8932 Fishes. —Mollusks. 
liver belonging to a fish like the sporling. In every other instance 
there was nothing in the intestinal tract but parasites, mucus, crys- 
tals, and an abundant supply of fatty globules and particles of all 
sizes. The rapidity and power of digestion in this fish is extra- 
ordinary ; but there is no doubt that, if the fish had fed regularly, the 
food could never have disappeared so rapidly and well as to defy even 
a microscopic investigation of the intestinal tract throughout. It is, 
however, a mistake to suppose that they never feed in fresh water at all, 
just as it is one to suppose they feed voraciously, but vomit their food 
when captured. The true state of matters would seem to be that the 
salmon when in fresh water feeds rarely and at intervals, but not from 
want of voracity, as the contents of the stomachs above mentioned 
show ; and further, that such food is occasionally found in its stomach 
from February till August. * 
Capture of the Swordfish off Plymouth. — On the 17th of September last a speci- 
men of Ziphius gladius was captured by some fishermen while engaged pilebard- 
fishing. It was entangled in their drift-nets and secured. The specimen was pur- 
chased by the Curator of the Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society, for the 
Museum at Plymouth. The dimensions of the fish are: —Entire length 7 feet 
7 inches; length of sword, 2 feet 10 inches; girth 3 feet 4 inches. Its weight is 
147 Ibs. Although not a large example of this species, yet it is an old fish, the sword 
being long, and the dorsal fin having been worn away throughout its whole length, 
except at the base of six or seven of the foremost rays, and even these are mere 
stumps. The stomach contained pilchards and cuttle-fish.—J. J. Reading ; Ply- 
mouth, November 1, 1863. 
The Boring Snail of the Bois Des Roches. — In the commune of Retz, Picardy, 
and on the right of the road between Hardinghen and Marquise, about ten miles from 
Boulogne-sur-Mer, is situated Le Bois des Roches—a small wood, deriving its name 
from the numerous masses of calcareous rock there collected, which have been thrown 
up by some convulsion of nature. These rocks are extremely solid and impenetrable, 
formed of what is called “ marbre Napoléon,” from being the material of which the 
column at Boulogne is built, which, from its perfect preservation and sharpness of 
outline, notwithstanding its complete exposure to wind and weather for nearly sixty 
years, is a proof of the hardness and durability of the stone. Nevertheless the sides of 
these rocks which face the north-east and east are covered with myriads of round holes, 
funnel-shaped externally, about 14 inch in diameter at the mouth, contracting sud- 
denly to about half an inch, and sometimes extending 6 inches in depth, irregular and 
* They have often been seen to void several vertebre per anum, when landed on 
the bank of the river. 
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