CORRESPONDENCE. 



A Whale Fight in 1240. 



In reference to Mr. R. Lydekker's account of a whale fight in the South Atlantic, 

 printed at p. 173, it may be of interest to quote the account of a whale fight which 

 occurred in 1240, probably near the mouth of the Thames, as given by Matthew 

 Paris, the chronicler of St. Albans, in his English History. 



A.D. 1240. — " A Remarhahle Battle amongst the Fishes of the Sea. — Altho^ugh other 

 great and unheard-of wonders happened in this year, we have thought it worth our 

 while to mention in this work one more remarkable than the rest. As it is the nature 

 of the sea to vomit up on dry land the dead bodies thrown into it, about eleven 

 Whales, besides other marine monsters, were cast up on the sea coast of England 

 dead, as if they had been injured in some kind of struggle, not, however, by the 

 attacks or skill of man. The sailors and old people, dwelling near the coasts who 

 had seen the wonders of the deep when following their vocation in the vast waters, 

 and trafficing to distant countries, declared that there had been an unusual battle 

 amongst the fishes, beasts and monsters of the deep, which by wounding and gnawing 

 each other, had caused death to several ; and those which had been killed had been 

 cast ashore. One of the fishes, a monster of prodigious size, made its way into the 

 Thames, and with difficulty passed uninjured between the pillars of the bridge ; it 

 was carried as far as a manor of the king's called Mortlake, where it was followed 

 by a number of sailors, and at length killed, after a great deal of trouble by .unumer- 

 able blows of spears." 



Dunstable. Worthington G. Smith. 



An Ammonite Problem Solved (?) 



With reference to our note with this title (p. 245),'Mr. S. S. Buckman points 

 out to us that a distinction should be drawn between "beds which only yield worn 

 and imperfect specimens," and " beds which afford specimens in a complete state 

 of preservation, the shell-sculpture remarkably sharp, and the delicate mouth- 

 processes complete." In the former cases "distribution is readily granted " ; but 

 in the latter "it is reasonable to conclude that there has not been much dis- 

 tribution after death." 



While admitting some such caution, we may, nevertheless, suggest that the shell 

 of Spirilla is a sufficiently delicate structure, and that distribution by flotation would 

 not really expose the shells to many casualties. 



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