In this connection he pointed out that almost every species of mammal had its own peculiar species of fleas, although certain of the commoner Species of fleas were to be found on more than one species of mammal, such as the common dog flea, which was found on the domestic dog, the domestic cat and on man himself. The importance of fleas could not be overestimated, he said, because these insects had been proved tobe the carriers of deadly diseases such as the bubonic plague.
In his lengthy and extremely in-deben lecture, Mr. Sowerby refer-to another zoological surprise from China—a fresh water jelly fish which -was discovered in the upper reaches of the Yangtze, The discovery, he said, was made by the Japanese captain of a river steamer, who took preserved specimens of the little creature to Tokyo. These fresh water jelly fish, he explained, were very few in number and were widely separated in isolated throughout the world.
After dealing with various kinds of fishes found in China, Mr. Sowerby referred to the huge sword beaked sturgeon which, he said, was shaped like a common sturgeon. Nothing was known, however, about the habits of this fish or where and how it bred.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.