Natural History in the English Counties. 157 
The only rare insects I saw last year were a couple of mole-crickets ; and 
some young friends of ours, who are entomologists, tell us that butterflies 
were particularly scarce, doubtless from the coldness of the weather. The 
Cynthia cardui (or painted lady butterfly), however, appeared last year. I 
got a walking toad (ana Rubéta) in the summer, which, I believe, is not 
common here. We lave not many reptiles ; more vipers than snakes. 
I wish I could give you a satisfactory account of the productions of our 
sea, but, I believe, they have been very imperfectly explored. Our fisheries 
are nearly restricted to those of the herring and mackerel, with crab and 
lobster catching. There is a little line-fishing, but we seldom find any thing 
taken but skate, codlings, and a few codfish. I am convinced more might 
be done; and, last summer, we did make the discovery that our soles were 
abundant and excellent, though rather small. The tides run very strong 
on this coast ; and this, with the sudden changes of the weather, presents 
an obstacle to the setting of nets; but J hope improvements may be made 
in the construction of nets, which may extend the captures. A nice kind 
of salmon-trout is sometimes taken in our mackerel nets, and we now and 
then get a red gurnard or a red mullet.” Of fishes which are not eaten, we 
frequently meet with the sea-bream and the lump-fish ; we occasionally see 
a pocket-fish (Lophius), and some large species of the shark race. We 
heard of a shark, last April, which was called a bottle-nosed shark, nearly 
8 ft. long, which ran upon the rocks at Cromer, with a porpoise in its 
mouth; and, in the summer, we saw an angel-fish (Squalus Squatina). 
We have very few shells, but some beautiful star-fish and Medtse. I 
have seen the cuttle-fish from the length of an inch to its full size; and, 
after the gale of last November, the beach was strewed with living sea- 
mice (Aphrodita aculeata), and with skates’ eggs. These last I had before 
supposed to be a vegetable production; but, in each that I opened, I now 
found a living long-tailed skate. They are of a dark colour, and have 
four pointed corners, they are sometimes called fairy-purses, Seals are 
occasionally, but rarely, taken asleep under the cliffs. In the autumn of 
1828, we had one for some weeks, and he became rather tame; but he 
could not bear the frost, and evidently pined for his own element. When- 
ever he could get loose, he made off straight for the sea, which is at the 
distance of nearly a mile; and to the sea, at length, to his great delight, we 
restored him. He was inclined to be sociable whilst with us ; for, when left 
alone, he would creep into the kitchen for company :*and he had a good 
appetite ; for one night, after a hearty supper, he got out of his tub, and stole 
and swallowed twenty-six large herrings. Whales are not unknown on our 
coast. A small one got entangled on the rocks at Runton, on the 23d of 
November, and was killed. I saw it when cut in pieces, and, therefore, I 
cannot give so complete an account as I could desire; but I understood it 
was 24 ft. long. The whalebone fringe which lined the jaws was nearly white ; 
the jaws 2ft. 7.in. long ; the extreme width of the tail, 3ft. 1lin. I think it was 
the Balaenoptera Boops described in p. 233. of the British Naturalist. Its nose 
was pointed, and it had the spout-holes in the middle of the head. Its colour 
was nearly black on the back, and below it was white, and in folds; the 
blubber was about 14 in. in thickness, and produced very fine oil. A steak 
of the flesh was cooked, and tasted like tender beef. In March, 1822, 
amuch larger whale, also of the Balz‘na kind, was killed at Overstrand. You 
may like to have the dimensions :— Length, 57 ft.; breadth of tail, 13 ft. ; 
pectoral fin, 6 ft. 6in.; tongue in length, 9ft.; in breadth, 4ft. Another 
whale was observed spouting off Cromer in the autumn of that year. 
Having referred to the British Naturalist, | must advert to the just regret 
of the author of that entertaining little work, at the extinction of the Urogél- 
lus, or cock of the wood, in Britain ; and I would take this opportunity of 
mentioning, that, five years ago, a gentleman of this neighbourhood imported 
a pair of these birds from Sweden, They did well m confinement; and 
