Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-12-13
AHlaALs IN THE AIR.
Flying With Membranes and Para
chutes-BOmbarded by Fishes.

man OF science. Il was sailing along
shore, and finding it necessary to make
land put my yacht up a narrow river that
emptied into the sea. We drew little
water, so I went in under full sail, and
when a mile or SO up we ran into a
school Of pompanos. The very water
was black with them, so that we seemed
moving through a stream Of fishes, and
then commenced a most remarkable
scene. The fishes, finding themselves
pushed to the wall, as it were, began
to leave the water with a force that was
astonishing Ny yacht is sixty feet long
and of fifteen feet beam, and they cleared
her like birds, coming out Of the water
as if shot from gun. going over US,
striking the sails and falling upon
the deck, so that the men had
to dodge to avoid them, and
have no doubt that blow
from one would possibly have produced
serious injury Many Of the pompanos
cleared in single jump a space Of twenty
five feet or more. and then, instead Of
disappearing, they struck upon their sides
and glanced off considerable distance
further. like shot"
This occurrence calls to mind a number
Of fishes that have similar habits. About
the FIJI Islands, large gar-fsh leaps
from the waters and courses along for one
hundred feet or more, in and out, and
strangely enough, sometimes causing the
death Of natives wading in the surf by
striking aud piercing them with its bill
The small gar-fish fsour coast rises in
the same way, and the hard headed Dac-
tylopterus, one of the southern gurnards,
does the same, often boarding vessels and
causing accidents, that. if they were not
SO painful. would be amusing. Sir John
Richardson is authority for the statement
that sailor was struck by one fairly in
the forehead and knocked senseless upon
the deck, and an examination Of the head
of the fish would show how easily this
might happen.
Mariners have been hit by the ordi-
nary fying-fsh, which, however, are too
soft and delicate to produce much injury
They have often dashed through cabin
windows, attracted by the light, or been
carried aboard ship by the wind, landing
in the sails and SO dropping to the deck.
The question as to whether the flying fish
uses its fms as wings is constantly re-
vived, and it is safe to say that they do,
the wings having been seen in motion ap-
parently iuttering to impel the fish along
through the air, while it changed its
course with apparent ease. When they
first rise the tail or caudal fin is seen to
vibrate rapidly, working with tigure-of-
eight movement that forces them along,
but as soon as they are clear the wings
are vibrated rapidly for a while, until
finally they soar away exactly as does
bird, changing their direction, circling
and continuing their flight for an eighth
of mile out Of the water.
One of the cuttle-fshes is called the
flying squib. Upon the side of the body
are two wing-like processes that project
from it, 50 that when the animal hurls
itself into the air tail first these may
serve in sustaining it. All the cutie
fishes leap from the water, and as some
attain length of sixty feet, it must be
a stupendous sight.
On land there are innumerable instances
of animals flying or moving through the
air without the air of wings proper. A
very common sight in New England, is a
, spider holding its body aloft and eject
ing thread Of silk that rises in the air
until it finally lifts the spider and bears
it away. But there is little spider
called the Atlas volans, from Australia,
that has two flaps upon each side Of its
abdomen, which can be raised or lowered,
and when jumping from leaf to Leaf,
they use these wings more or less in sus-
tanning themselves.
Among the milk giving animals that
move through the air the flying lemur, an
animal allied to the monkeys, is very in
teresting. 1t has, like our flying squirrel,
a membranous skin, that when the arms
are stretched out adds many times to the
general spread Of the body without addi-
tional weight; even the tail spreads sim
liar arrangement The young cling to
their mothers and II is curious sight to
see them sweeping from one tree to an
other, The fight Is always downward.
They start from the top Of high tree,
dash off swooping downward, then rise
from their impetus about twenty feet,
clasp the bark, dart to the top Of an ad-
jacent tree, and hurl themselves of, re-
peating the mannuvre again and again.
They do this so rapidly that observers
have been unable to keep up with them,
running along below with a rifle, trying
to get shot.
Our common flying squirrel moves in
about the same way, and, II examined, on
the forearm or wrist Will be found deli
cate little bone that is used to boom out
their curious sail as they dart through the
air. The flying squirrels Of the East are
extremely numerous and beautiful, and
often attempt remarkable fights chang
ing their course in the air just like birds.
This power has been doubted, but re-
Gently specimen that was being brought
to England escaped; running up the
mainmast and launching itself of, It
darted al the foremast. Just then the
r1 - = III