Fishes. 7649 



a rarity with us, even in winter. The only gull that breeds regularly with us is the 

 herring gull, which occurs here in countless numbers. I think, therefore, that 

 when the late lamented Mr, Yarrell saw the kittiwake it must have been during or 

 after a storm, and that he might have been told that it breeds here. In winter the 

 following gulls are common with us : — large blackbacked gull, herring gull, kitti- 

 wake, common gull, blackheaded gull.— /?e«ry Rogers ; Freshwater, Me of Wight, 

 June 17, 1861. 



[I ought, injustice to the memory of so distinguished a naturalist as the author 

 of the ' History of British Birds,' to say that I am informed by a friend that Mr. 

 Yarrell was fully aware of the mistake he had made about the kittiwake, and intended 

 to have corrected it: he was the last man in the world intentionally to repeat an error: 

 everyil)inghe either wrote or said was marked by the most conscientious love of truth 

 and accuracy. — Edward Newman.'] 



A Shower of Fish. — The following extract from a letter from Singapore, addressed 

 to the Academy of Sciences, by M de Castelnau will be found interesting : — " We 

 experienced a shock of earthquake here on the 16th of February last. It was followed 

 by rain in torrents on the 20th, 21st and 22nd. When the sun came out again I saw 

 a number of Malays and Chinese filling their baskets with the fish contained in the 

 pools formed by the rain. They told me the fish had ' fallen from heaven,' and three 

 days later, when the pools were all dried up, there were still many dead fish lying 

 about. I found them to belong to the Clarias Batrachus, which can live a considerable 

 time out of water, and even move to some distance on dry land. As they lay in my 

 courtyard, which is surrounded by a wall, they could not have been brought in by the 

 overflowing of a torrent, nor is ihere any considerable one in the neighbourhood. The 

 space covered by these fish might be about fifty acres. They were very lively, and 

 seemed to be in good health. I have particularly remarked the singular occurrence of 

 the fish, having already, during my stay at the Cape of Good Hope, had occasion to 

 mention to the Academy the fact of several new species of fish being found after aa 

 earthquake. Is it admissible to suppose that a waterspout, in passing over some large 

 river of Sumatra, had drawn up the fish and carried tbem over? It is not without 

 fear I venture to suggest this hypothesis." 



An Eel found in a Stratum of Shells. — In sinking the present new pit of 

 the Carron Company, at No. 10 engine, one of the workmen, Mr. James Kemp, found 

 an eel imbedded amidst a strata or layer of shells, nearly eighteen feet from the sur- 

 face, quite lively, but so emaciated that the eel more resembled the broad-bladed leaf 

 of a water flag than a fish of the eel species. Upon being brought to the surface, the 

 serpentine and slimy fellow began to swell and elongate, assuming the usual shape, 

 and measuring about fifteen inches. How the muddy gentleman found his way into 

 the shell bed is matter of conjecture both to naturalists and several intimate with 

 Geology. — ' Falkirk Herald.' 



VOL. XIX. 2 z 



