NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OP THE BELL ROCK. 15 



notice the orderliness which prevails amongst them, as of a 

 disciplined army. But from below the poddlies have sighted 

 them, and swift as light they are amongst them with a deadly 

 rush. Completely disorganised, the "fry" scatter in every 

 direction. Some seek shelter beneath the glassy domes of the 

 passing jelly fishes ; others, twisting and doubling like hares 

 coursed by hounds, spurt spasmodically along the surface in 

 their frantic endeavours to escape the enemies destined by 

 nature for their destruction. The successful raiders are seen 

 scurrying about, with their glistening prizes dangling from 

 their mouths, dodging the thieving attacks of their less 

 successful brethren in the foray. But suddenly a flash of 

 bronze in the bright sunshine betokens the leap of the lordly 

 lythe, as he in turn seizes his victim from amongst the attack- 

 ing force and as quickly returns to his lurking-place among 

 the luxuriant tangles. And so the war is waged, the strong 

 preying upon the weak, right down the chain of life, till the 

 unaided eye can but discern the destroyer alone. One is apt 

 to experience a feeling of revulsion at the tactics pursued 

 by the lythe in thus lurking concealed, while above him his 

 prey sport in blissful ignorance of his presence. On the other 

 hand, with what little compunction do we ourselves, by every 

 available means, harry their numbers to supply our table, 

 and a savoury dish they are at present ; cooked when freshly 

 caught they are simply delicious. 



On Saturday the 10th we had a heavy thunderstorm ; 

 the lightning was extremely vivid, and appeared to zig-zag 

 from the sea to the zenith, while the thunder, at first resem- 

 bling the rippling discharge of small arms, gradually increased 

 to the deep boom of heavy ordnance. The hitherto unbroken 

 sea was threshed into white foam by the heaviest rain I have 

 ever seen here. The poddlies, though busy amongst the " fry " 

 at the time, would not deign to look at our " fly," and, though 

 we tried our best, we did not succeed in hooking a single one. 

 A similar result is experienced during the operation of our 

 explosive fog-signal. As an instance how fish of the same 

 kind may differ, there is a circular pool on the Rock at low 



