Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1866-08-24
70, VT, FRIDAY, AUGUST "a, 1866.

| the fishermen were ordered by the Mayors
or Presidents of the provinces TO go fishing
for him. Often five or six boats would be
| about his ship, bringing fish which had been
| speared, shot with arrows, caught in nets or
with hooks, or poisoned lie thought, there
fore, that such collection of fishes as he
had brought home would not be seen again
The Emperor of Brazil, returning from the
army on the Paraguay, sent for him to talk
| with him of the Amazon. Imagine his de-
| light at finding the table covered with dishes
| hllcd with the fishes of the Uruguay, which
the Emperor himself had gathered, and
which he then gave him for comparison.
| lie believed he was not wrong i'll saying
| that the basin of the Amazon is the largest
| ireshwater basin in the world. II flows
through country 5000 miles long with
fall of only $50 feet.
: As result of this, the time of filling up
OF the Upper Amazon is six months earlier
than that of the mouth. The tributaries on
the south side supply it most in December,
while those on the north take their turn in
June. This is the economy of power in this
grand river, by which its rise and fall are
very much counteracted. Many of these
rivers are tinged with some solution which
he thought to be vegetable, and which had
q blackish color Those. however, which
| took their rise in tropical forests were clear
The Amazon is so white in color that when
the Rio Negro pours in its black tide it does
not.changc the Amazon. The white rather
overlies the black, or the two colors flow
side by side for many miles. The average
temperature of all these rivers is p deg.
centigradc, and the range only five deg.
centigrade. II would be hard to find a
basin of such equable temperature. The
known fishes of the Amazon are more than
| hn Italn nft t1,n 4 ttrIt hn
might add the number of aquatic birds is
amazing.
| He then spoke of the characteristics of
our fishes and those of the Amazonian fishes
in comparison. The most characteristics
class is that of the gonodouks, which cor
responds to our hornpouts. but much more
nearly to our surgeons. There is a kind of
sturgeon in the Mississippi River which is
very closely allied to them. 1t is a family
of tropical distribution. 1t may be said
is it not possible that these fishes migrate?
so that nothing could be inferred from their
presence in certain localities only. He had
foreseen this difficulty and had divided his
party, making collections on different parts
of the river for many months at the same
time ; so that he felt that his conclusions
were not based on insufficient knowledge
Another family, which is quite numerous is
or small river in this country which furn-
ished more than 81 species. But in very
small lake in Brazil he obtained 300 species
and from larger lakes and rivers he pro
cured still larger numbers. The next family
is that of the Chromids. 1t is almost eX-
cusvey South American, with few
species in Africa He believed the number
of these known to exist in the Amazon was
IL. He himself had added 19-where the
boundaries of transition in geographical
distribution of these fishes were, and what
were the causes of this distribution, he could
not say. He had spread his assistants
about so that he was sure of the fact, but he
could not yet go beyond it. Every promi-
nent type Of the ocean had its type among
these same Chromids He might speak OF
the habits of these fishes Many species
carry their eggs in the sides of the mouth
like food, or tobacco, if you please, Others
bury them in holes. There are others in
which the eggs become attached TO the
lower part of the abdomen, others sit upon
their eggs like Il bird, one class covering
them with the mouth the acrated water
thus helps TO hatch them. Another family
is the carasids, corresponding to our min
nows and herring. But there are some
kinds of fish which range all along the Anna
zon and its tributaries. We cannot tell
why they should have a general distribu-
'lo! any i%ilorG % Sillll we can at present G4- IH
Piolii tiie ioo"l ulsliipu'ici ~ vi o'leiH II,
spohI ~ 'iio ooo"llehoe vi Sh"'cs' VI ee.s, "
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az to ~ VI iiio -.
iS GnoiS l@0'y iioii eiio W VI.
pio' 'noo @ W. "iS c ~ 1oo Mna' n'nca me-, WI wt','
wov % IIc did NOT know y sinclc Goldfish.
Ike fish on the ccosts of Rro5il nor onv.
tbino like the scuInins Tie added that tIe
ortist of bic oxnodition bod nronorod noint.
;nas Of 500 frrsb-wotor Gsbos and Of 9oC
s,,oc;os Of Tho oceon IF prof Uenry could
Idrt hin, fIl IN volumes Of tbo Smith oniar
nubiications bo baJ tbo n,oteriaI ,vhcrewiti
I,, 70 do II
Dr r. A Gould wos ncvt in order with
ra,,o,. ON tbo USto+,ro Of Aner;can sold.
;ors IN y NJ. could onologi1cd for lacl Of com.
,,Iato ,,,.arorotion os 10 bo1 not o,noctod
r. rood tp~dov ITO rocoileJ tbc fact thot
be reod a noner veor moo ON tbc . 4 oes n,
tbo Amcrican soldiers 3 Jc hod hero the
rns,,ItS ne to tbe Stature of I 00O 600 mon
Tio,Ls had boan sent to tbn Ad;ntont Cen.
erals of the dioarcnt states who had fran.
scrihod from thc mustcr rolls rho results
have shown how mnch more satisfactory
thn statistics wonld bc if wc had the stature
of tbe earlier troobs who must have becn Il
eh,rdier class ofmen. The rules oftho army
ron,,ire thot the hcioht shall hr given ot tb5
noarost one -fnnrtb inch Vet tbe mimbe,
whose height was given in the whole inches
was four times what it should be, and the
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