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conceived her to possess the power of invisibility, as she has ran along the seared stump or mossy bank before his feet? The hawk thus often loses his prey, and wheels off in sullen disappointment, while the lark he has been pursuing is all the time only crouching down among some kindred coloured herbage. The small birds, when under pursuit, seem to be quite sensible of the value of this defence, and seek out those spots of ground, or patches of vegetation, which bear the nearest resemblance to their own colour. Darwin tells us that birds which are much among flowers, such as the goldfinch, are furnished with very vivid colours themselves. The partridge, the woodcock, the tree-pigeons of the East, and the quail, and even the tiny tom-tit, are deeply indebted to this provision of colour for their defence.

Among animals too, although in a less remarkable manner, passive imitativeness is a means of defence. The changeful appearance of that animal Proteus, the chameleon, is a striking instance in point. The trapelus, the polychrus, and several of the anolii, possess the same wonderful property; some of them can change their colour even more suddenly than the chameleon itself. The reader must be familiar with the explanation of this phenomenon; which consists in the sudden inflation of the enormous lungs of these creatures, rendering them almost transparent. The hare, as she sits in her form, can only with great difficulty be distinguished, by the unpractised eye, from the herbage around her; and were it not for eyes and noses more acute than those of men, she would often escape by this means. It appears not improbable that the change of colour in the animals of northern regions in winter, is an additional provision against their enemies.

Actice Imitativeness is one of the most curious subjects in natural history. To only a limited number of the members of the zoological scale has it been given to play the mimic in the great game of life and death. Commencing with insects again, which are mimics in a wonderful degree, the first stratagem we meet with is the mock death. Many insects, on being touched, instantly curl themselves up, and drop into a seemingly lifeless condition, out of which nothing but the pressure of urgent danger can arouse them, and then, like some human malingerers we have read of, they speedily find their limbs, and run for their lives. There is a beetle called the Anobium pertinax, commemorated by writers on entomology, whose astonishing endurance in this death like condition scarcely finds a parallel in the marble rigidity of the tortured Indian. This little Spartan may be pricked with needles, roasted over a slow flame, maimed, wounded, and even torn limb from limb, without evincing a single symptom of sensation or of life; but in its own time, if indeed it has not been too seriously injured, it will come to life again, and coolly walk away as if nothing had happened. The spider is known to every one to perform this feat of simulation. Some insects will, when assaulted, turn on their backs, and stretch out their little limbs in all the immobility of death itself; and after shamming until the danger is over, they will resume their briskness again. This device seems directed against that sentiment in the breast of their enemies which prevents their attacking anything from which life has departed. Other insects will lie on the branches of trees, and arrange themselves in such stiff, inanimate postures, as to cause them frequently to be mistaken for the branches or twigs themselves. An anecdote is told of a gardener who, seeing, as he thought, a dry twig on a tree, broke it off, and to his surprise found it to be a caterpillar. Another is related of a servant who, finding, as she thought, little round beads in the garden, began to string them into a rosary, when she found them to be animated creatures. The puss-moth, hawk-moth, and others, are caterpillars of the appearance of withered leaves and twigs. Among birds, the pee-witt or plover is familiarly known to imitate lameness. It will turn over and over, limping and hobbling, and uttering its peculiar plaintive cry, until it has drawn the intruder to a distance from its nest, when it takes wing, and leaves him baffled and disappointed. Its eggs, too, have a brown colour, which makes their

discovery among the dry grass which surround them more difficult. The partridge also, to lure away an enemy, will run just as if it was wounded. Some of the feline tribe, and others among animals, will simulate sleep, until their hapless prey has been drawn near enough to be pounced upon. Singular to relate, there is a crab, the Cancer phalangium, which cuts off small pieces of a marine fucus, and fastening them upon its spines, marches upon its enemies, like Birnam wood to Dunsinane.

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Armour must be considered as the next and most obvious defence, and may be regarded, as in the former instance, both as passive and active: passive where, like a coat of mail, it is a negative defence, and active when it consists of weapons used by the voluntary efforts of the animal. The insects are frequently provided with an armour of hairs, some of which, on being touched, will produce violent pain and inflammation of the hands; and others are protected by a covering of mail. Many beetles may be trodden upon by the human foot without injury: ants and others often escape death even after being apparently crushed beneath the weight of man. The forest-fly, or Hippobosca equina, is well known to be killed with the utmost difficulty by the pressure of the finger and thumb. The cocoon of the silk-worm is a beautiful illustration of this kind of safeguard. The larva is here protected by its silken envelope from many of the dangers that would otherwise be fatal to it. The frogspittle,' as it is vulgarly called, so often seen on our bushes, contains and protects the larva of a little insect, by its very disagreeableness, from the attacks of wasps and birds, &c. Others are covered, or cover themselves, with a kind of cottony or feathery armour. Some roll themselves up; and their projecting hairs make it a matter of difficulty to take hold of them. Among the inhabitants of the waters we immediately encounter the crustaceous animals, which are protected by a calcareous coating outside; the familiar examples are the sea-urchin, the crab, the lobster, crayfish, &c. Shells are a defence common to land and marine creatures, and are in some cases so strong, as to render them almost impregnable. The scales of fish, as of the carp, are also of service as a defence. The solid armour of the genus Testudo, the tortoise tribe, are good illustrations. Among these the bosc-tortoise is wonderfully provided; for it possesses a shell articulated by two lids, so that when the head and limbs of the animal are withdrawn, it is completely encased in it, and can bid defiance to its enemies. The armadillo has received its name from the paving-stonelike armour which protects it. The term Pachydermata, or thick-skinned animals, is applied to those whose tegument is so thickened as to form a very effectual defence. The skin is sometimes so plated, as in the hide of the rhinoceros, as to resemble the roof of a house; while among snakes there is a remarkable illustration of maillike armour. The scaly ant-eaters, again, are provided with large scales like tiles, which, on being attacked, they can elevate, and then roll themselves into a ball. The hedgehog curls up the vital parts, bending himself into a round prickly ball, which has not one weak part exposed. The dense coat of hair is in other animals a defence not to be despised; that of the shaggy bear is used on our soldiers' caps as a shelter from the blows of the sword. The feathers of birds are in some instances of a similar value. Many of the alligator family have skins so studded and carbuncled with warty excrescences, as to give them the appearance of those doors which are covered with iron nails. Helmets and bony shields are not uncommon among fish.

Active armour is, however, a more general provision, being possessed by an infinite number of the members of the animal world. Among insects it is the great leveller of the enormously disproportionate power between their enemies and themselves; rendering some of the least of such apparently insignificant creatures objects of terror, suffering, and aversion both to man and to the brute creation. The sting of the mosquito tribe, that scourge of hot and cold countries alike, is a well-known instance. The venom of the scorpion is frequently so powerful, as to prove fatal, or to require the amputation of the bitten

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limb. Some of the black ants sting so keenly, that the part feels as if cauterised; and there is an ant called the Ant of Visitation,' before which the inhabitants will even rise in the middle of the night and fly. The celebrated tarantula spider, about which so many fables have been circulated, gives a very sharp and venomous bite; but its effects soon disappear. Many of the centipedes bite in a similar way. The stag-beetle is another ferocious insect, terrible from the power of the great forceps it carries, like antlers, on its head. The common ear-wig carries a similar weapon at his tail. Some of the large South American spiders are so powerful and venomous, as to be able to destroy humming-birds, pigeons, &c. burning sand-fly occasions a wound so minute as to be almost imperceptible, as if the flesh were burned with a red-hot needle. There is a small wood-spider called the tenderaman, whose bite is usually fatal. Among fish are those terrific instruments the teeth of the shark; the spike of the xiphias or sword-fish, a weapon so powerful, as to be frequently driven violently through the bottom of a ship's boat; and many more. powerful serrated snout, with which it attacks, and frequently successfully, the largest whales. There is a roundish species of fish, known as the diodon, which looks like an aquatic porcupine. Cuvier compares it to the burr of a chestnut, it is so thickly covered with sharppointed spines, which it is able to erect at its will. Others are armed with sharp instruments upon their fins and tails, which are directed in different ways to suit the habits and motion of the fish. Some of the Scorpaena tribe are so hirsute with these fearful weapons, as to present an aspect perfectly frightful; and some possess poisonous instruments as well. The flying-fish has a long, stout spine, which forms a powerful weapon. A fish called the monocentris is wonderfully defended by being completely mailed with rough angular scales, besides having five or six immense spines disposed on different parts of its body. The reader scarcely requires to be reminded of the little stickle-back, whose sharp dorsal spines must often have pierced his hands. Some foreign members of the same family, in addition to these spiny ornaments, have likewise a bony hauberk. There is a fish vulgarly known as the surgeon, found in the Indian Ocean, which carries a strong movable spine on each side of its tail, as sharp as a lancet, and inflicts severe wounds on those who carelessly handle it. There is a curious fish with green bones, called the belone, which has a bite considered highly dangerous; and some of the genus Silurus possess a spine above the shoulder, which they can raise or depress at will, the wounds of which are often followed by tetanus. It is only necessary just to mention, to avoid incompleteness, the fangs of serpents, with the consequences of their bites; and the vast claws, sharp snouts, tusks, and horn-like processes of some of the Carnaria, are also weapons which will occur to the recollection of every one. The tail of serpents and apes, and particularly of the Marsupialia, is a weapon occasionally of considerable efficacy. The hoof and horns of the horse and buffalo may be also enumerated. The jaws of the lion, tiger, &c. are terrible instruments too: of the hyena it is mentioned that so great is the muscular force with which it fastens upon anything, that it is impossible to separate it from its object; the Arabs, on this account, give its name as a synonyme for obstinacy. It is a remarkable circumstance, that some of the Orycteropi, or ant-eaters, have a spur on their hind-feet, perforated by a canal, which leads to a gland secreting a liquid, and placed in the inner part of the thigh; the wounds of this instrument, which is almost an anomaly in itself, are said to be highly dangerous. Among birds, the talons and the beak form the chief offensive instruments. The courageous little shrike, and a bird called the American tyrant, use the beak alone, and with success, against the attacks of the largest birds. Many birds have hooked bills; the albatross, or man-of-war bird, eagles, and vultures, possess this powerful addition. Finally may be mentioned the claws or forceps of the Crustaceans-the crab and lobster. These are appendages of vast power, and are used with effect both as a defence and as a

means for crushing the shells of the smaller creatures upon which they prey. It is even reported that some of the large species have been known to seize a goat, and drag it into the water, drowning and devouring it.

AMERICAN INDIAN SKETCHES. IN the vain hope of awakening the conscience of the United States government to a proper sense of the duty it owes to the unfortunate aborigines who still exist within its territories, the pen has been taken up by a zealous and well-known friend of the Indians, Thomas L. M'Kenney, late chief of the bureau of Indian affairs at Washington.* We have perused this benevolent gentleman's narrative with considerable interest, and cannot but lament with him that year after year the native tribes are lessening in number, less from their own intestine feuds, than from the dishonest appropriation of their. lands, and the vices introduced among them by the whites. Alive to the disgrace of this national crime, a number of respectable citizens in New York, in 1829, attempted to move the government on the subject; but private interests were too powerful to be overcome, and nothing was eventually done to improve the condition of the sufferers. For the last sixteen years a systematic course has been persevered in of banishing the remains of the Indian tribes to wildernesses beyond the avowed limits of the States-to be again, doubtless, molested in these new hunting-grounds, when it suits the purpose of the white man to make further encroachments.

Referring principally to official proceedings, Mr M'Kenney's work does not admit of analysis, and nothing of the kind need be attempted by us. The author, however, occasionally relates an anecdote illustrative of his Indian experiences, and one or two of these we shall pick out for the amusement of our readers. The first refers to an expedition in which he was concerned, along with General Cass, in 1837, with the view of settling a treaty with several collected tribes at a place called Butte de Morts (Hillock of the Dead).

The business of the treaty over, everything was in motion, preparing for the departure of all to their respective destinations. At one place might be seen a group of squaws, and children, and dogs, all seeming to be engaged in huddling together, or hauling to the water's edge their provisions and effects; whilst others had their canoes in the water, and others again were in the act of gliding away upon the smooth surface of the river, enjoying the quiet satisfaction which the presence of rations and good fare are so well calculated to pro

duce.

'At this moment of general activity, a scream, wild and fearful, was uttered. It was by a female. A rush of a thousand Indians was made for the spot whence it proceeded. I looked, and saw in the midst of the crowd a man's arm raised, with a knife in the hand. It fell-and then was heard another scream! When I sprang towards the scene of what seemed to be a strife of blood, and just as I had reached it, Major F., having started from an opposite direction, was a few feet in advance of me; and at the instant when the third blow was about to fall upon the victim, he struck and knocked down the man who was thus desperately employing the bloody weapon. There stood, trembling and bleeding, a fine-looking squaw. She was mother of the wife of the man who had made the attempt upon her life. The deltoid muscle of each arm, just below

among the Northern and Southern Indians. By Thomas L. * Memoirs, Official and Personal; with Sketches of Travels M'Kenney. New York: Paine and Burgess. 1846.

the shoulder, was cut with deep gashes. These were given, as each arm was raised, in succession, to shield her body from the impending knife. The first thrust had thus disabled one arm, the second the other; and if the third had been given, there being no shield in the arms for further protection (for they both hung powerless by her side), it would doubtless have gone, where the two first were aimed, to the heart!

'I took charge of the trembling and agitated woman, giving orders to the soldiers to take the offender, and lock him up in our provision-house, until some suitable punishment should be agreed upon for a crime so flagrant and bloody. Our surgeons having gone to the village, I cleansed and bound up the wounds; and by the employment of bandages, kept the arms stationary, giving her directions not to use them, and sent her in charge of her daughter and some friends to Green Bay, to our surgeon, to be attended to.

'Attention being called through the various interpreters, the governor spoke, explaining the case-the innocence and kind designs of the woman-the propriety and usefulness of the interference, which was not rudely attempted the noble object of keeping her and being bereft of all their stores, and then going daughter's husband from joining in drunken revelries, home poor, and naked, and hungry. That was her object; whilst the whisky-trader cared for none of these things, but sought only to rob them of their blankets and calicoes, &c. and give them nothing in exchange for them but fire-water. The Great Spirit looked down and smiled on this act of the woman, and was angry at trader. It was for an attempt so kind and so proper the bad conduct of the man, and with the whiskyon her part that this man, the husband of her daughter, had seized her, and with his knife struck at her heart, to kill her, and but for her arms, with which she had shielded her breast, she would have been murdered. Her cries, and tears, and blood, were all unavailing ; nothing could have saved her but the timely arrival of help, and a blow that put it out of his power to consummate his bloody purpose. For this act he shall be no longer a brave; he has forfeited his character as a man; from henceforth let him be a woman!

The cause of the outrage was as follows:-This woman and her daughter had carefully put away their supplies, &c. in their canoe, and were on the eve of embarking, when it was rumoured among the Indians that a whisky-dealer had arrived in the woods, behind 'At this annunciation, the chiefs and braves muttered our treaty-ground. The moment it reached the ears vengeance. We were told by the interpreters they of this reckless Indian, he started with others in quest would resist us. But never before were hearts put more of the whisky. The mother-in-law, well knowing that at rest, or did hope gleam in upon such a multitude of their calicoes, and blankets, and strouding, and pork, squaws; never did eyes dance in frames of such emoand beef, and flour, &c. would soon be parted with, in tion, or smiles radiate faces with such animation. Never exchange for this fire-water, followed him, intreating was the "neaw!"- a term expressive of mingled surhim not to go, but to go home and enjoy what had been prise and gladness-uttered with such vehemence and given them there. She clung to him rather inconve-joy. Even the papooses, turning from their sources niently, when he resolved on freeing himself by the use of nourishment, looked round as if some new and of his knife. For some time she kept off his blows with blessed influence was felt by them; and the very dogs her paddle; but this being presently knocked from barked. her hand, she had no shield left but her arms, and these were alternately disabled in the manner I have stated.

'Meantime a voyager had procured of an old squaw her petticoat, stiff with the accumulated grease and dirt of many years. As he ascended the mound with this relic, another mutter of vengeance was heard from the men, whose faces were black with rage; but it was literally drowned amidst the acclamations that broke at this moment from the squaws. Now they saw, for the first time, new light and new hope breaking in upon their destiny. Our burdens, they seemed to say, will be

'Governor Cass coming along, I narrated all this, and to the inquiry, "What shall we do with this man?" answered promptly, "Make a woman of him." And so we did. The process was on this wise. The several interpreters were sent out to summon in the Indians, and to arrange them around the Butte de Morts -the women and children in front. This being done-lighter, our rights more respected, our security more from eight hundred to a thousand perhaps being thus assembled the offender was brought from his confinement, and led by a couple of our voyagers to the top of the mound, and placed against the flag-staff; Governor Cass and myself, and the interpreters, being there also. Never before had I witnessed in Indians a feeling so intense. Every eye of chief, half-chief, brave, and squaw, ay, and of every child, and it seemed to me of every dog also, was beaming with concentrated lustre, and every eye was upon us. They had all heard of the assault upon the woman, but to a man justified it, alleging that a woman was nobody, when the power and freedom of the man were attempted to be interfered with; and that the life of any woman would be no more than a just forfeit for such intermeddling.

The squaws entertained different notions, and were deeply interested, personally, in the scene before themnot one of them knowing anything further than that some punishment was to be inflicted on the man for his conduct. The offender stood unmoved. Not a particle of interest did he seem to take in what was to befall him. If he had been there alone, listening to the rustling leaves, and the moaning of the winds, and looking upon the woods, the sky, the river, and the lake, he could not have been more unmoved. He was dressed in his best. Moccasins, ornamented, were on his feet; his leggins were of scarlet cloth, fringed and decorated, besides, with bits of fur, foxes' tails, and rattles. A good blanket was about his waist; his ears were ornamented with silver rings, his arms with bracelets, his face with paint, and his hair sprinkled with vermilion.

secure. There stood the voyager, holding the petticoat. The sight of both was far more obnoxious to the culprit than would have been the executioner armed with his axe. But still he was unmoved. Not a muscle stirred. Around his waist was a belt, with a knife in it, such as butchers use. Taking hold of the handle, I drew it from its scabbard, thrust the blade into a crack in the flagstaff, and broke it off at the handle; then putting the handle in the culprit's hand, I raised it well and high up, and said, "No man who employs his knife as this man employs his, has a right to carry one. Henceforth this shall be the only knife he shall ever use, Woman, wherever she is, should be protected by man, not murdered. She is man's best friend. The Great Spirit gave her to man to be one with him, and to bless him; and man, whether red or white, should love her, and make her happy." Then turning to the voyager, I told him to strip off his leggins and his ornaments. It was done, when the old petticoat was put on him. Being thus arrayed, the voyagers, each putting a hand upon his shoulders, ran him down the mound, amidst a storm of indignation from the men, mingled with every variety of gladsome utterance by the squaws; when, letting him go, he continued his trot alone to a lodge near by, rushed into it, and fell upon his face. An interpreter followed him, and reported his condition, and what he said. His first words, as he lay on his face, were—“I wish they had killed me. I went up the mound to be shot. I thought I was taken there to be shot. I'd rather be dead. I am no longer a brave; I'm a woman!"

'Now, this mode of punishment was intended to

produce moral results, and to elevate the condition of women among the Indians. It was mild in its physical effects, but more terrible than death in its action and consequences upon the offender. Henceforth, and as long as I continued to hear of this "brave," he had not been admitted among his former associates, but was pushed aside, as having lost the characteristics of his sex, and doomed to the performance of woman's labour, in all the drudgery to which she is subject, as well of the lodge, as of all other menial things. The whiskytrader had made off, or he would have been taught a lesson which, with the proper using, might have been made useful to him for the remainder of his days.'

On one occasion, when visiting the Choctaw nation, Mr M'Kenney was introduced to a professional rainmaker.' This personage had the address to pass himself off among his brethren as one who was in alliance with the Great Spirit, and could produce plenteous showers by his intercessions.

I shook hands with him, and told him I was glad to see him; that I had heard of his greatness; and that I was so anxious to know the secret of rain-making, that I would give him an order on the agent for a pair of scarlet leggins, a pound of tobacco, a string of wampum, a pound of powder, two pounds of lead, and a blanket, if he would tell me all about it. He stood up, and looked around him; and then, holding his head first on one side, and then on the other, listened; when, looking well round him again, he sat down, saying to the interpreter, "Ask him if he will give me these things." Most certainly, I replied, upon the condition that he will tell me all about his art as a rain-maker. He stood up again, and looked and listened, and then seating himself, began :

"Long time ago I was lying in the shade of a tree on the side of a valley. There had been no rain for a long time-the tongues of the horses, and cattle, and dogs, all being out of their mouths, and they panted for some water. I was thirsty-everybody was dry. The leaves were all parched up, and the sun was hot. I was sorry; when, looking up, the Great Spirit snapped his eyes, and fire flew out of them in streams all over the heavens. He spoke, and the earth shook. Just as the fire streamed from the eyes of the Great Spirit, I saw a pine-tree, that stood on the other side of the valley, torn all to pieces by the fire. The bark and limbs flew all round, and then all was still. Then the Great Spirit spoke to me, and said, 'Go to that pine-tree, and dig down to the root where the earth is stirred up, and you will find what split the tree. Take it, wrap it carefully up, and wear it next your body; and when the earth shall become dry again, and the horses and cattle suffer for water, go out on some hill-top, and ask me, and I will make it rain.' I have obeyed the Great Spirit; and ever since, when I ask him, he makes it rain."

'I asked to see this thunderbolt that had shivered the pine-tree. He rose upon his feet again, and looking well around him, sat down, and drawing from his bosom a roll which was fastened round his neck by a bit of deer-skin, began to unwrap the folds. These were of every sort of thing-a piece of old blanket; then one of calico; another of cotton-laying each piece, as he removed it, carefully on his knee. At last, and after taking off as many folds as were once employed to encase an Egyptian mummy, he came to one that was made of deer-skin, which being unwound, he took out the thunderbolt, and holding it with great care between his finger and thumb, said, "This is it!" I took it, and examined it with an expression of great interest, telling him it certainly was a wonderful revelation, and a great sight; then handing it back to him, he carefully wrapped it up again with the same wrappers, and put it back in his bosom.

The reader is no doubt curious to know what this talismanic charm, this thunderbolt was. Well, it was nothing more nor less than that part of a glass stopper that fills the mouth of a decanter, the upper or flat part having been broken off!

'I wrote, and gave him an order for the presents, when he shook hands and left me, doubtless much edified, as well as benefited, by the interview, to carry on his operations as a rain-maker till it should rain.'

BLACK-FISHING.

Ir is generally known that salmon, during the winter months, swim up rivers to spawn; and, having obeyed this instinctive impulse, that they return in a lean and unsound condition to the ocean. To attack and kill the poor creatures while swimming up the streams, burdened with spawn, is cruel and murderous, for it is annihilating myriads of salmon which the spawn would in due season produce. To kill them coming down is not less brutal, for the animals are not in a fit state to be eaten they are foul fish. In order to protect salmon in these circumstances, the law establishes a close time, during which, under heavy penalties, they must not be captured. Nevertheless, killing salmon while the rivers are legally shut is an exceedingly common offence. Along the whole course of the Tweed, and other rivers, this species of poaching is perpetrated nightly, on an extensive scale, by bands of men prepared to offer a determined resistance to authority. The plan usually pursued is to walk along the banks of the stream with burning wisps of straw or fagots, and the instinct of the salmon drawing them towards the light, they are readily speared. Many fish are thus killed while in the act of spawning. Touching the injurious consequences, individual and social, arising from these unfair practices, the following passages occur in an article on the subject in the Peeblesshire Advertiser, a small monthly paper of the kind we have frequently commended :

During the spawning season, not only the appearance, but the habits of the salmon are totally changed: the timid fish which, in its healthy state, is scared by a shadow, hiding itself in the deepest and strongest water, now exposes itself in the ebbest streams, with often scarcely enough of water to cover it, so that it can be caught with the greatest facility by means of any device, however simple, or indeed without the assistance of any device, but simply with the hand, so thoroughly does it put itself in the power of man at this season. It must be obvious, therefore, that if, in the violation of reason, mankind do not hesitate in destroying the fish, the law must be applied to prevent the utter extinction of the species. It is not unusual to hear persons, in their eagerness to vindicate a course to which they are addicted, argue that the fish, under Providence, expose themselves in the manner described, that they may easily fall into the hands of the people at a time when the necessity of using them for food is greatest. As well might they argue that birds and other animals might be destroyed when in a similar state; for assuredly no animal undergoes more deterioration than salmon do in similar circumstances. It is more on account of the welfare of the population, than any other reason, that we would endeavour to dissuade them from this pursuit. We may safely assert that no man can systematically follow any occupation denounced by the law of his country without having his moral nature grievously outraged; the very fact of its being forbidden, calls into exercise many degrading qualitieslow cunning and duplicity of every description being necessary to commit and conceal the offence. It often results, too, in the commission of crimes at first not contemplated by the unfortunate persons themselves; namely, among others, in resisting the officers of the law, for which, instead of having to answer for the statutory offence of killing salmon in forbidden time, they may have to answer to a charge of assault, or, it may be, of murder! This is not a hypothetical caseit has unfortunately frequently arisen out of this and similar pursuits.'

So much may be said of the injurious consequences of black-fishing! as it is called; but we should scarcely be justified in dismissing the subject without pointing out

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what we conceive to be the source of the evil. For four hundred years, as may be seen from acts of parliament, the law has been endeavouring to prevent this kind of poaching, and it has failed. In vain are the prisons more or less crowded every winter with black-fishers; in vain are heavy pecuniary penalties exacted; in vain are men ruined, generation after generation: the crime is now as rife as it was in the fifteenth century. Has it never occurred to the administrators of the law that there must be some cause for all this? Are they not aware of the excuse which black-fishers employ when challenged for their conduct? Let us give voice to this grumbling apology. The excuse of the men is, that they are dwellers on the banks of the river, and that if they did not catch the fish in close time, they would never be able to get them at all; because gentlemen, at the estuary and other places, set stake-nets to intercept and catch them wholesale.' Such is their mode of reasoning; and rude as it is, it carries with it an air of justification. We are not sure that the practice is not, in many instances, carried on from motives of vengeance, irrespective of any hope of profit. If such really be the case, how deplorable are the results ensuing from heedless legislation—a regular system of demoralisation arising from the constant effort to protect the interests of one party at the expense of another! To an unprejudiced observer, it will seem clear that the practice followed by landed proprietors, at the mouths of rivers, of sweeping up salmon wholesale, and so depriving all above them of any inducement to angle at the proper seasons, is inconsistent with equity, and must ever excite hostile feelings. What common-sense points out is this: rivers, from their source to their junction with the ocean, with all the creatures which dwell in them, are public property, or at least should be considered as such. It is true the law has imparted a right of private property with respect to the capturing of salmon by stake-nets; but surely this requires revisal and modification, with a view to the public advantage. At present, as we lament to observe, the populace on the banks of rivers are in a continual embroilment respecting the right of fishing, and, as above stated, mercilessly destroy the salmon at illegal periods. What we desire to press is, a general reconsideration of the whole question, in order to allay disputes, and to give each man an interest in preserving the law inviolate.

TEMPERATURE OF THE HUMAN BODY. INQUIRIES into the nature and sources of animal heat have ever occupied a large share of the attention of physiologists, from the days when a subtle fluid was supposed to be the mysterious medium for the diffusion of heat, until modern researches have shown it to be the result of a chemical operation. By careful and well-defined observations, attempts have been made to trace its influence in derangements of the normal condition of the animal economy. Among these the investigations of Dr Davy of Ambleside possess sufficient general utility to render an account of them interesting.

The doctor's observations were commenced about four years ago on some fishes proper to the Mediterranean, among which, contrary to the generally received opinion, he found that the sword-fish and tunny are warmblooded; and in extending his inquiry, was led to remark that the increase of heat in fishes is in proportion to the increase of red particles in their blood: thus showing that these red particles are in some way connected with the generation of heat. These observations prepared the way for others on the human subject: the result hitherto obtained is, that the temperature of the body in health is not constant, but rises and falls under the general influences of heat and cold, rest and exercise.

The method pursued was by the introduction of a glass thermometer, bent at right angles, into the mouth, so as to enable the observer to read off the indications

as given by the mercury. The bulb must be placed as far back as possible, under the tongue, and the breathing be carried on through the nostrils. If introduced between the cheek and teeth, the temperature given will be under the real amount, as shown under the tongue, where it should be left for some minutes, to insure the maximum.

In a series of observations carried on daily for a period of eight months, the highest average temperature was found to be, just after the operator had risen in the morning, 98.74; the medium, about three hours after noon, 98-52; and the lowest, at the time of retiring to rest at midnight, 97-92. A corresponding depression of the respiration and pulse was noticed at the same hours. The temperature of the room in the morning was 50′9; and at night 62 on the average of the whole eight months; thus showing that the maximum temperature of the body is highest after the night's repose, and lowest at midnight, although at the latter period the atmosphere was many degrees warmer.

The effect of active exercise is to increase animal heat, when not carried to a fatiguing extent. The average temperature of 98 rose to 99.5 after a fourteen miles' ride under an August sun; the respiration and pulse quickened in a corresponding ratio. The propor tion of heat to the amount of muscular exertion is seen in the sum of the results obtained after riding from seven to ten miles in a close carriage; which showed a lower temperature than any previously indicated, even by the midnight observations. Desultory walking exercise in cold weather is also attended by a depressing effect; there must be vigour and animation to insure an agreeable warmth. But the most lowering effects of all were noted after sitting, during service, in a church in which there was no fire. Notwithstanding warm clothing, a painful chill was experienced, with a strong tendency to drowsiness.

Excited and sustained attention, such as reading a lively book, the labour of literary composition, continued from two to five hours, has the effect of raising the temperature of the body slightly above the average; while, on the contrary, reading for mere amusement, or the mechanical process of copying, are shown to be followed by the same sedative and lowering result, as carriage exercise in comparison with muscular.

The taking of food into the stomach appears, from careful observations taken immediately after dinner, to have the effect of reducing the temperature: the more plentiful the meal, the greater would seem to be the depression. On particular occasions,' writes Dr Davy, 'when a larger quantity of wine than usual was taken, the reduction of temperature was commonly most strongly marked. A light meal, such as that of breakfast, consisting of tea, with a portion of toasted bread with butter, and often an egg, has had little effect in depressing or altering materially the temperature.'

From a few experiments tried on individuals advanced in life, the doctor finds that the animal heat in deeplyseated parts is greater than at middle age; which he accounts for by supposing that the food they eat is expended rather in the function of respiration than in compensating the waste of the system. The observations generally show that the temperature of man undergoes fluctuations in common with some other animal functions, and, like them, seems to obey a certain order-the one diurnal, in connexion with passive states of the body; the other accidental, dependent on irregular circumstances, exercise physical or mental, exposure to heat and cold. The temperature of various individuals, after working several hours in a heated factory, was found to be raised one or two degrees above the average; thus verifying the general proposition, that the heat of the body rises and falls with that of the atmosphere. Here, however, the doctor remarks that the increased heat penetrates but a short distance below the surface, whether it arise from surrounding causes, or from exercise. A certain law of compensation appears to come into play: by active exercise,

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