NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 167 
the tentacular arms is extremely rapid and certain in aim. ‘The 
prawn is seldom missed, and is frequently extracted from a hole or 
crevice. The cuttle, however, evidently objects to the prawn’s 
rostrum, and always strikes at it from the side, not from the front. 
The other case which has recently attracted attention in the 
aquarium is that of the red mullet, six of which have been living in 
good condition since August 28th. The mullet is provided with a 
pair of stiff barbels, about 14 inches long, attached beneath the 
apex of the lower jaw. When the fish is swimming above the 
bottom these feelers are folded backwards and le in a ventral 
groove between the edges of the opercula, and in this position are 
not visible. But the fish does not swim for long, at brief intervals 
it settles on the bottom, and immediately turns the barbels down- 
wards and forwards, and rakes in the gravel of the bottom with 
them, keeping them in rapid motion. The barbels are so stiff and 
strong that they rake into the gravel with considerable force, and in 
this way the mullet finds worms or shrimps on which it feeds. Hven 
when food is given to the fish on the surface of the gravel, so that 
there is no need to search for it, the barbels are always used to feel 
every morsel before the jaws seize it.—J. T. C. 
Growth of Fishes in Aquarium.—lIn the number of this Journal pub- 
lished in November, 1892, particulars were given concerning some 
dabs and flounders reared in the aquarium. ‘These fish were examined 
again in the spring of this year, with the following results. Of the 
dabs twenty-three were taken from the tank and examined on March 
3rd, these being apparently all that survived. Fourteen were females 
ranging in length from 44 inches to 8} inches, and nine were males 
from 42 inches to 74 inches. To give the lengths in centimetres in 
order to compare with the measurements of the preceding year they 
were : 
14 females. : ‘ 10°7 cm. to 20°8 cm. 
9 males ; d e 5 EEOMRY Obs sak 
With the exception of two females 7} and 84 inches long, which 
appeared to be ripening, no signs of spawning were seen in any of 
these fish, and none were afterwards found to become ripe. This 
evidence indicates that in the dab as in the flounder few specimens 
become ripe at two years of age. 
The flounders in the small tank, three years old, were examined 
on the same date. There were only nine of them examined, those 
which were ripe the preceding year having been removed, and 
several killed in the interval. There were found— 
3 females . : : ; 2 inches to 123 inches. 
5 1 
6 males. : ; ‘ 73 a 103 _ sa, 
NEW SERIES.—VOL. Il, NO. IL. 13 
