208 AUGUST. 



pretty ^Equoreal Pipe, or as Mr. Couch appropriately 

 names it, the Painted Sea- adder (from the variegated 

 tints of brown and yellow, wherewith its numerous 

 angular plates are individually adorned), is abundant 

 enough all along our southern coast, in deeper water, 

 affecting the extensive beds of zostera, and of sea-weeds, 

 which in many places clothe the bottom. The eminent 

 Cornish zoologist observes of this species, that " in May 

 and June, and frequently in July, and occasionally in 

 August, these fish rise to the surface of the water, how- 

 ever deep it may be, and bask themselves in the sun. 

 They retain their position at the surface by clasping with 

 their tails the cords and buoys of the crab-pots, sticks, 

 or any other substance they may find floating at the sur- 

 face. The whole of the caudal portion of the body is 

 coiled round the stick or cord, and the heads lie either 

 horizontally or at right angles to the surface. In some 

 seasons the buoy-ropes of the crab-pots are literally 

 obscured by them from the surface of the water down 

 as far as the eye can penetrate." 



The little Worm Pipe may also lay claim to the title 

 of "painted;" for its anterior parts especially are gene- 

 rally marked with spots of pure white bounded by a 

 border of black, while the cheeks and throat are covered 

 with a delicate flush of purple. The habit mentioned 

 by Mr. Couch of curling the tip of the tail around 



