S26 THE NATUEALIST. 



Night setting in, the dredge was abandoned for the cabin, which 



speedily brought on all the horrors of sea sickness, which continued with 



slight intermissions until the third day. Early the next morning we set 



to work in earnest, having in the night-time arrived at the destined locality 



— the Silver Pits on the west slopes of the Dogger Bank. Here Dentalium 



entalis occurred in every haul, with now and then a specimen of Astarte 



compressa and A. sulcata, Echinus sphcera came up in abundance with an 



occasional sprinkling of E. miliaris. Later on the dredge brought up 



bright coloured specimens of Trochus zizijphinus, and the very next haul 



yielded T. zizyphiniis var. Lyonsii ; this shell when fresh from the dredge is 



a beautiful object — 



"Composed with nature's finest care, 

 And in her fondest love." 



of a brilliant pearly white, and in some specimens the animal was tinged 

 with bright crimson, which, shewing through the semi-transparent shell, 

 added greatly to its beauty. The colour, however, fades when the animal 

 is plunged into fresh water. 



Young specimens of Mytilus modiolus occurred with Fusus gracilis ; 

 a large water-worn stone, weighing some thirty pounds, was brought up, 

 covered with Alcyonium digitatum, attached to which was a specimen of 

 Mytilus modiolus. It may be remarked here, that living examples of Bucci- 

 num undatum were of rare occurrence, though dead half-grown individuals 

 were not uncommon, many of them giving shelter to Pagurus Bernhardus, 

 Linne, while the external portion of the shell supplied room for the habita- 

 tion of Serpula vermicularis. One of the most successful hauls brought up 

 living specimens of Eclmms melo {E. Sardians, Leske ?) an Echinoderm 

 which has not hitherto been recorded as British (Mr. Peach has taken 

 it at Fowey, in Cornwall, but the occasion was not made public). It is 

 a Mediterranean species. The late Professor Forbes in his beautiful 

 work on the British Starfishes, remarks that " It is probable that the 

 Echinus melo of continental authors is identical with E. sphmra " 

 Miiller, it differs, however, in many points from the E, sphcera of Miiller, 

 and I think it may be fairly entitled to rank as a good species ; but 

 on this point I hope to say more hereafter. This, with Natica helicoides, 

 N. sordida (dead), N. pallida (Brod. and Sowb.) and Modiolaria nigra, all 

 dredged from a depth of fifty fathoms, proved to be our best things. 

 Dead examples of Nassa incrassata, a shallow water species, Natica 

 monilifera, N. Marochiensis, Fusus gracilis — the three latter encrusted 



