98 



NOTES- ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



Delphinus tursio in the Colne. — On Sunday morning, May ^gch, 1893, 

 as a man named John Crossley was searching for flounders in Mill Creek, 

 Fingrinhoe, he discovered, in a shallow part of the creek, three large Porpoises, 

 unable to pass outwards, as the receding tide had left insufficient Avater over 

 some banks below. He obtained the assistance of some of his friends, and 

 between them they managed to pass a slip-knot of rope over the animals and 

 drew them up the mud on to the marsh. The unfortunate animals' throats were 

 then cut in the same manner as pigs are slaughtered. In the afternoon the men 

 gave me notice of the catch, and I went and inspected the Porpoises. I found 

 one to be a male, 10 feet i inch from the tip of the nose to the notch in the fluke, 

 and 6 feet in girth ; the other male was smaller, measuring 5 feet 10 inches and 

 5 feet ; and the female was larger than .either, being 10 feet 3 inches and 5 ^eet 

 10 inches. She had the appearance of being gravid, and had plenty of milk, 

 which e.xuded in a stream on pressing the mammary gland. I caught a quantity 

 in my hand and tasted it, and found it very rich and creamy, but it was strongly 

 fishy, coupled with that peculiar rank flavour so characteiistic of the odour of the 

 breath and flesh of all the Cetaceans I have examined. This Dolphin is said to be 

 rare, but in my experience it is the one most frequently taken in our estuaries. I 

 have seen and recorded more examples of this species than any other during the 

 last twenty years. I ought to have said before that the animals appeared to have 

 been feeding on eels, as one of them turned out many pounds of the fish in a 

 semi-digested condition, when first hauled up. 



I was very glad to have an opportunity of tasting a Cetacean's milk, but I 

 do not think I should crave a meal of it. — HEiNKY Laver, F.L.S., Colchester, 

 June 4th, 1892. 



Otter and Trout. — Fishing to-day (May 20th) in the Chelmer at the place 

 where the Stebbing Brook joins that stream, 1 saw a full grown otter quietly get 

 out of the water immediately opposite to me and go up the bank, where I observed 

 him resting on the grass for about half a minute. Making a slight noise to call 

 my son's attention, the animal became alarmed and quickly and quietly returned 

 to the water with a sinuous motion much resembling a large ferret ; otherwise 

 the animal, with his sleek coat, looked like a seal. So quiet were his motions 

 that he did not disturb a trout of a pound weight which immediately 

 began to bite, and which I caught. This incident, I think, shows that the otter 

 in its ordinary course moves about in the water without being regarded by the 

 fish. Both events, as it were, transpired at once, and we were not eighteen feet 

 from each other. It is almost unnecessary to add that trout and otters are 

 exceedingly shy and wary. — -J. FRENCH, Fehttad, May 20th, 1892. 



Hoopoe at Roxwell. — On May 3rd, a Hoopoe (_Upitpa epops) flew up from a 

 wet ditch at the bottom of my garden at Little Boyton Hall, and settled on some 

 trees near. Although I have frequently been in pursuit of him with a binocular 

 since, I have never seen him again, so he has probably passed on. — RegiN/.LD W. 



Chkisty, RoxweU, May 23rd, 1892. 



Fieldfares in Spring of 1892. — Fieldfares were very late this spring in 

 returning to their summer quarters. There were large flocks here from April 22nd 

 to 30th, and one lot of about 500 stayed till May loth, when the weather became 



