"Quite possibly," Frank replied; "let us ask the Doctor."
They asked the question, and were taken somewhat aback when Doctor Bronson answered in the affirmative.
A CLIMBING-FISH.
"I don't know," said he, "if there are any fish in Siam that climb trees, but there is one in Brazil that can perform this feat. He does not ascend a perpendicular tree, but when he finds one that slopes at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and has its roots in the water, he will venture on an excursion in the air. His scales are very large, and he works himself forward by a motion of the lower ones as they press against the bark of the tree. He hugs the tree with his fins in order to maintain his balance; his movements in climbing are very slow, and he certainly appears to better advantage in the water, where he is a rapid and graceful swimmer. You see that a fish out of water is not always the unhappy creature he has been supposed to be by most persons."
"I heard somebody say one day," said Fred, "that oysters grow on trees in some parts of the world. Is that really so?"
"Certainly," was the Doctor's answer; "they do grow on trees, but not in the way you are naturally led to suppose."
"How is it, then, Doctor?" queried Frank.
"It is quite simple when you understand it," was the response. "The spawn of the oyster floats in the water, and attaches itself to the first thing with which it comes in contact. It frequently happens that, at high-tide, the water comes up a little way on the trunk of a tree, or it may be that a limb of a tree hangs in the water. The oyster-spawn is attached to the trunk or limb, as the case may be, and when the tide goes away it remains there. It has enough vitality to live until the tide comes again; it retains its hold, and in course of time becomes an oyster growing on a tree. He could not live altogether without water, but he can easily get along during the intervals of the tides. He does not grow on a tree like an apple or an orange, but he certainly makes the tree his home."