15- NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



notwithstanding that in the interim the carriage has been used to form part of a 

 local train running between Dagenham and P'enchurch Street." — "Evening 

 Standard," May 17th, 1894. 



Galeus vulgaris (the Toper) off Clacton. — On Saturday, September 

 29th, 1894, •'• niale specimen of this shark, hve feet four inches long, was brougin 

 to me for inspection. It was caught in a trawl, a short distance outside the Colne. 

 The captors appear to have been much alraid of their prize, when they found what 

 they had in their net, and took considerable trouble to kill it by hammering its 

 head. — Henry L.-wkk, F.L.S., Colchester, October ist, 1S94. 



Capture of a Sheat Fish (Silurus Glanis) in the Stour. — On June 

 15th, 1869, Sir J. T. Rowley, of Tendring Hall, Stoke-by-Nayland, turned out 

 four females and one male of the Silurus glanis intoia piece of water in his parki 

 the overflow from which runs into ihe'river Stour. After a heavy thunderstorm 

 on July 25th, some nets, known as eel brays, were put into the stream at Stratfcrd 

 Mill for the purpose of catching a run of eels as they proceeded down stream to 

 deposit their spawn in salt water. During this operation Mr. Busby, a game- 

 keeper, and Mr. W. Gifford were somewhat startled at hauling out, in one of the 

 eel brays, a monstrous fish, five feet long, and over thirty pounds in weight. It 

 proved to be a Silurus glanis, or Sheat-fish, and there can be no doubt that it 

 came from the Park Lake at Stoke-by-Nayland. The fish is unknown in Great 

 Britain as a native, though it frequents many of the large Continental rivers. 

 Many experiments with a view to English acclimatisation have been made, but 

 hitherto, I believe, without known results. The specimen has been sent to a 

 London taxidermist for preservation. It is greatly to be hoped that no large 

 family of these voracious and destructive creatures lurks in the depths of the 

 Stour. A proposal is now on foot to stock the river with Chub and Barbel, hut a 

 few Si/iiri would probabl}' make short work of llie new comers. We ha\e in this 

 countr)' laws against the destruction of fish b}- d3'namite and b}' poison, but the 

 eventuality of their wholesale slaughter by the introduction into rivers of such 

 foes as the Silurus does not appear to have entered into the arena of practical 

 politics. — Charles E. Benham, Colchester, July 31st, 1894. 



Pentamerous Symmetry in Aurelia observed in Essex Waters. — 

 While shore-hunting at Brightlingsea on August 4th I came upon a stranded 

 Aurelia which exhibited a pentamerous instead of the usual tetramerous sym- 

 metry. I append a brief description :— Sub-umbrella surface presents five equally 

 developed oral lobes at the five corners of the mouth. Intermediate with these 

 lobes are five horse-shoe shaped reproductive organs, also five sub-genital pits 

 with orifices. There are five perradial branched canals, five interradial, also 

 branched, and ten adradial straight canals. Thus it will be seen that the animal 

 presents a pentamerous symmetry, which is unusual among the Coelenterata. — 

 Herbert W. Unthank, B.Sc, 37, Aden Grove, Green Lanes, N. 



[Mr. L'nthank's observation gave rise to an interesting correspondence in 

 "Nature." Prof. Herdman remarks, on August 30th, that "in an expedition of 

 the Liverpool Biological Society to Hilbre Island a few weeks ago, we found 

 several such specimens, and remarked upon the frequency of the variation. I 

 think the number was either four or five pentamerous forms out of twelve 

 examined." Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., who is so well acquainted with the natural 

 history of our Essex Waters, wrote on August 31st from his yacht "Glimpse,' 

 off Buinham : " During the last few months I have seen countless thousands of 

 living specimens of /i2<r^/7rt a^/rzVa', and have paid special attention to abnormal 



