The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-10


these fish are capacious, and in his opln-
don Il is probable that a sufficient amount
Of water can be retained in them to keep
up respiration during the time the fish
are out of the water. lie has timed indi-
viduals both in their natural condition
and in the aquarium, and found that they
would sit for more than half an hour with
out a bath. They would then walk slowly
into the water and go below the surface
for a second. come up and rest for brief
space, and walk slowly out again on to the
margin.
Or. Forbes has been very generous with
the specimens not required for the Liv-
erpool Museum. In December last he pre-
scented several to the geological gardens
but they did not thrive, and In a short
time all died. He has quite recently sent
another consignment for which home
has been found in a large tank In the
new tortoise house. These specimens are
doing very well. and IL will be great adj
vantage for naturalsts to have an oppor-
tunity OF watching these curious fish.
which seem to be quite fearless, and In
no wise ineommoded by the visitors, who
stream through the house. Their resem-
blance to tadpoles Is exceedingly striking,
and their strange appearance ~ added 10
by their prominent eyes which are bet
ter adapted for vision In air than in wa
ter, and, from their position, must COM
mand an extensive field in all directions.
They can be protruded and retracted and,
as the fish lies propped up by It's pectoral
fins. 1t often appears 10 wink at the spec
tator, with one eye or both. Dr. Forbes
has, however explained that what seems
to be winlSing Is the inversion of the eye
into depression Immediately beneath, for
the purpose of lubricating the organ when
1t becomes dry.
The climbing perch Of india seems to
have been well known TO the ancients, for
Theophrastus records the existence In
that country OF certain little fishes which
leave the rivers for time and then re-
turn to them. This agrees pretty closely
with the habits of this species. The Ma
lays call It by name which signifies the
"tree-clImber," but while there Is no rea-
son to doubt the truth of Daldorf's story
that In 1891 he took one from moist cav
ity in the stem of n palm tree growing
near a lake, there has hitherto been no
confirmation of ii by any European. In
this fish the hinder border of the gill;
cover is armed with spines, the neutral
fms are spinous, SO as to afford some sup
port, and II uses its pectoIal fms TO oar
itself along through the grass and reeds.
There is no doubt that it can travel for
q considerable distance on land, or that
II can live for some time out Of the water;
but that Is no reason for accepting the
medieval Arab story that II climbed palm
trees to drink the milk of the nuts. This
fish and Its allies have a supplementary
gill-liIxe organ on each side above the true
gills, which enables them TO exist for
considerable time out of the water. A
less complex arrangement, serving g like
purpose, is found in the Indian fish, pop
ularly known as serpent heads" which
can travel a good way over moist ground.
moving first one pectoral fin and then
the other, in some such fashion as a man
would elbow his way through crowd.
The use OF the pectoral fins as means
OF locomotion, other than swimming is
not unknown among British fishes. OF
this the gurnards are wel-known cx-
amples; they have, as prolongations Of
their pectoral fins, three bony rays which
serve for walking on the sea bottom,
where they live, and probably also as or
gans of touch. When they are Kept in a
large aquarium their strange mode of pro-
erosion, which is extremely slow and de-
liberate, may be observed without diff
Guilty. Lydekker writes Of them as "hav-
ing peculiarly ghostlke appearance, re-
minding the beholder of monsters In a
pantomime" Their weird look caused the
keeper of a large aquarium to doubt if
they could be true fish, and he used to de-
scribe them as something between a real
fish and lobster" And, in truth, the bent
free rays do, TO some extent simulate the
walking limbs Of a crustacean. The
fishing Nrog, or angler-hsh, uses Its broad
paddle-like pectoral fins TO walk on the
sea bottom, as well as to stir up the sand
in order TO conceal himself from prey
which the long flaments on its head may
have attracted. The closely related ten
tacle fish Of the tropics. which builds a
nest among the Gulf-weed, chambers over
the floating mass by means Of It's fins, and
also hops about over moist ground or On
the seageed. The eel Is another British fish
that sometimes leaves the water by night,
and travels through meadows an search
of food, or 10 get. from one point to an
other. the small external gill aperture en-
abling il TO remain for some time out Of
water. As there is abundant evidence that
young cells, in their upstream journey
from the sea, often travel for some OF
the distance overland, as has been descrio-
ed by Davy, Parnell and ST. John.
-s--eS-e-
The average man If asked what Is the
most important crop Of the world would
unhesltaungly say, Wheat This is true
in the United States. but far from the
case IN the world as a whole, says G. 3.
Waldron in McClure's. The first place
must be given the potato. OF all the sta
pie crops Of the world the potato takes
The first place, the annual crop being more
Than 4OCO.OO0000 bushels against $500, Co.,
coo bushels of wheat and 26oo,000OO0 BUSH
els Of corn. or the total potato crop Eu-
rope produces fully seven-eighths, and one
half times as much as her wheat, and all
the cereals tOeether are but 90 per cent