231 
before birth. He exhibited two perfeetly developed young, 
which he had taken from the mother on the 30th of Novem- 
ber last ; in these the spines were each covered at the point 
with a small knob of cartilage, fastened by straps of the same 
material, passing down one on each of the three sides of 
each spine, in such a manner as evidently to become easily 
detached at birth, thus allowing the little animal to commence 
life effectively armed. He mentioned that the female in 
question contained a large number of eggs, in various states 
of development, in addition to the two fully-formed young ; 
and he took occasion to remark, that this fish is so destructive 
to herrings that fishermen look on it with abhorence: in this 
he thought they were wrong, for he considers that some of 
the success of fishing with driving nets is to be attributed 
to the headlong haste with which shoals of herrings go along 
when pursued by enormous packs of dog-fishes, and that thus 
they serve man rather than injure him. Fishermen, however, 
destroy the dog-fish whenever it falls into their power, as they 
_did the specimen which gave occasion to this notice. 
Dr. Allman mentioned an analogous fact in the ova of 
Cristatella mucedo. 
Rev. N. J. Halpin commenced the reading of a paper on 
some passages in the life of Shakspere. 
Rev. Dr. Drummond presented to the Museum an ancient 
Ogham inscription, on the part of FrancisW. Jennings, Esq. 
Mr. Robert Mallet presented a drawing of a silver antique 
ring found in Ireland, and presented to the British Museum 
by Lord Enniskillen, containing an inscription in characters 
resembling Chinese. 
DONATIONS. 
Proceedings connected with the magnetical and meteoro- 
gical Conference, held at Cambridge, in June, 1845.  Pre- 
sented by the Association. 
