2i 



TOM CULLS AT WINCHESTER. 



Spine. The iris of the ej-e is very brilliant, remintling 

 us of a toad's eye. The bullliead may be said to be the 

 chameleon among fishes ; it is very rare to meet many of 

 the same colour. The colours they assume are yellow, 

 brown, orange, emerald green, &c. Nobody knows when 

 or how they spawn. 



They arc very common in the Itclien, in Hampshire. 

 I was educated at Winchester College, and one of the 

 great sports of myself and other boys was to " spear Tom 

 Culls." Our mode of proceeding was to fasten an ordinary 

 dinner fork on the end of a stick, and '^ spear the Tom 

 Culls'' as they lay among the stones. This required 

 great dexterity, as the fish was very slippery, and the 

 fork, not being barbed, was a difficult instrument to 

 catch them with. Tom Culls are said to be great enemies 

 to trout eggs, and they w^ould doubtless eat the fry out 

 of the gravel if they had the chance. 



KIVER BULLHEAD. 



By the kindness of Lord Eadnor, Longford Castle, 

 Salisbury, I received iii April, 1880, a grebe {Podicejys 

 minor), choked by a bulllioad. The fish was fixed so 

 firmly in the bird's mouth that I found it would go 



