6 NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OP THE BELL ROCK. 



Cyclopterus lumpus is again with us. This is not a new 

 form of the plague, but merely the technical term for the fish 

 called the lump-sucker, better known on the East Coast as the 

 paidle-cock and paidle-hen. Early this month they annually 

 visit the Rock to deposit their ova. This the hen does in 

 some convenient angle of the Rock, often so ill-judged as to 

 expose the nest at low water. The ova is cemented into a 

 compact mass, and adheres to the Rock by means of a 

 gelatinous envelope surrounding each egg. This operation 

 performed, the hen evidently considers her share of the 

 contract as finished, as she immediately clears out to deep 

 water, leaving the cock to mount guard over the nest. This 

 duty he faithfully performs, as he is always to be seen with 

 his nose close up to the ova, and never seems to leave it for a 

 moment. I have frequently taken them away from the nest 

 and placed them in a different part of the pool, but they 

 invariably returned to their post. A stick or other substance 

 intruded in the vicinity of the nursery is viciously snapped 

 at. The ova seems to be considered a desirable dainty by 

 other fishes, as the stomachs of the cod caught by us bear 

 indisputable evidence of the cock's inefficiency as guardian of 

 his embryonic progeny. The hen is about eighteen inches 

 long, and of a somewhat repulsive appearance. The cock is 

 about half this size, and more attractive, being brilliantly 

 coloured, combining various shades of blue, purple, and rich 

 orange. A broad sucking disc between the pectoral fins 

 enables the fish to moor itself to the rock and maintain an 

 upright position. The dorsal ridge somewhat resembles a 

 cock's comb, and is probably the origin of the name paidle- 

 cock. 



"Treasure-trove Discovery of Specie on the Bell Rock." 

 There is a heading for a sensational article, recalling visions 

 of that fictitious personage Ralph the Rover and his ill-gotten 

 wealth. Well, many a yarn is built on a less slender founda- 

 tion. Here are the facts : The specie did not consist of 

 Spanish dollars stacked in massive oaken coffers, but of a 

 similar metal enclosed in a far more ingenious receptacle, 



