New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-05-21

accompanied the Hefsian troops. Other destroyefs
Of cereal grains have since found their way across
/ tbe Atlantic. A nOxiOus European aphis has at
,acLcd The American whcat-ieds within the last
four OF five years.
no,o valuable forms Of insect life have bcen
transferred TO different localities by the immediate
agency Of man. The eggs of the s'ik~orin were
brought from the faTthest East to Europe IN tho
sixth century. New six spinnors which feed on
tho castor oil bean and alahus have recently been
reared in France aDd in South America with prom
isiue guoceee ThfErochinea has been transI lGntcd
tf.oIn aboriginal America to Spain. Both the
kermes insect and the cochneal have been trans
fercd t. other climates than their own. Inc
bopeybee, which ranks next to the siIkTonn ID
economical importance, was carried to tho United
STATES Inv Europcan colonsts IN the latter pat OF
! The seventeenth century. II was not until tho
close Of the eighteenth century that II crossed the
Mississippi. and it IL only within the last five or
six years that il has been tronfIan,ed TO Caliio'
MIA, where Il was previously unknown. The liaiah
stingless bee Las very lately been introduced INTO
the United States.
But the insects and worms Observation-Disclosures
planted by man bear but small proportion TO
those accidentally introduced by him. Plants ana
animals often carry their parasites with 'hoin'
The traffic Of commercial countries always transfers
! in both directions the minnie organisms wmch IN
one way or another are closely connected with inc
material interests of man. Tho terodo, so dcs;ruct-
I'VE TO ,hipping has been carried by vessels 10 al
most every part Of the globe The white ant IL
said TO have been carried to Rochefort in France
han
years ago.
! Several Of Mr.. Marshs most striking i'us'ra-
lions of the changes in animal lie produced by
human action are derived from the fisheries The
inhabitants of tine waters would seem compare
lively in their native element from the inter-
ference Of man. Slill he has greatly modified The
population OF the sea, the lakes, and the nv'T'
The great dininution in the larger fish employed
for food or pursued for products useful IN the aTs'
mustXnvolyc important notifications IN many OF
/ the material arrangements of nature. The whale
was not pursued by the ancients The time when
the whale fishery commenced is uncertain. IL
was, however, actively prosecuted in the middle
ages especially by the Biscayans. Five hundred
years $50, whales aboundcd in every sea. But thcy
long since became 10 rare in the Mediterranean AZ
not To afford announcement !or the fishery as
regular occupation. The great demand for OIL and
whalcbonc IN The present century has gwen such
stimulus TO the pursuit that they have almost
wholly disappeared from many iayon'" hshing
grounds. These facts suggcst certain coasidcTa-
tons derived from the character Of the food upon
which some species s1hsis, that are worthy Of
notice None Of the great mammals group, I'd. under
I ii, 4 hoy
all live upon small organsma, and chiefly upon
the soft gelatinous uollusks in which the every
where abounds. We can OF course, form no accu-
rate estimate Of the total amount OF animal matter
Withdrawn by them in a given period from ihe
waters of the see. II is, however, certain TIA; II
must have been enormous when they were more
abundant, and that II ia siiii very considerable.
The mere bulk OF the whales destroys IN single
year would FORM an leland Of no in1ing dimensions.
| Each one of those taken must have consumed IN
the course OF his growth many times his ON weight
| in mollasks The destruction of tho whales mus,
have been followed by proportional ncrease OF The
organisms they toll upon. If We hal the means Of
comparing the statistics of these humble forms Of
life for even 50 short period that between l7C9
and 1850, we nigh, possibly find difference sufi-
not yet accounted for. For Instance, the phos-
phorescence Of the sea was unknown to ancient
writers. Even Homer, who WAS familiar with The
glorious nature oi the Mediterranean and rs coasts,
nowhere nLadcs 10 this mo beautiful and striking
Of maritime wonders. l. ii not possible that III
modern times the animalcul,s which produce IT
nav have immensely multiplied from the iestIuc-
ton Of their natural enemies By man, and henco
that the CLEAN sho; forth by their decomposition,
or their living processes Is both more frequent ana
more brilliant than in tho days OF classic antiquity
Although the whale does not prey upon smaller
creatures resembling himself IN form and habits,
vet true fishes, as is well known, are extremely
yorac.ous. Every uibe unsparDgly deyOnrs the
feebler species and the spawn and young OF its
own. The enormous destruction Of tho pike, the
tron, and other raycNous hsb aswcl as OF The hsh-
i.,g birls. the scol aud he otter, by man would
nsye ogcs-ioDcd great ipcree,e IA tho weaker hah
on which they feed, had he not boon as hostile 10
them also as 10 their prosecutors. We have h'Ie
evidence that any fish employed a. human 1000 DaS
naturally multiplied in modern times. All the
more valuable tribes on tho contrary, have becn
! immensely reduced IA numbers. This reduction
ha, affected TIE voracocis species not used as
food by man The shark accordingly, and other
fsh Of smiar habits are now comparatively rare IN
many waters where they formerly abounicd. Hence
the result that man has greatly reduced tho num-
bers of all larger marine snin'ai- aud consequently
Indirectly favored the duplication OF the smaller
aquatic organisms which entered into their natri-
ment. ,.