Tur ZooLoGIst—FEBRUARY, 1875. 4323 
the path in places. The sea was very rough, and the sand was 
blown from the south-west side of the island so violently as to 
resemble hot ashes falling in one’s face. (Vide the local papers of 
this date). The fall of the barometer, and its subsequent rise, was 
rapid and considerable—nearly an inch in twenty-four hours! 
A fish market is always a subject of interest to the marine 
zoologist. The markets of Guernsey and Jersey will well repay 
the visitor many a half-hour’s attention. That at Guernsey is very 
fine; indeed it is said to be one of the finest in Europe. The 
building is about seventy yards long by fourteen or fifteen wide, 
lofty in proportion, and lighted from above. The fish are displayed 
on a series of forty slabs or tables of black marble, each six or seven 
feet long, placed at a slope with means for draining off the water. 
I noticed several fish that one does not often see, even in a market 
so well supplied as our own is. In addition to plaice, red mullet 
and congers, all unusually fine, there was the beautiful sea 
bream (Sparus auratus), with its bold eye, and its flesh- 
coloured tinge with golden yellow reflections, as its specific 
name implies. Then there were several species of the wrasse 
(Labrus), blue-striped, olive-green and yellow, called in the islands 
the “vraic” or rock fish, and very common they are around the 
islands, among which two or three were conspicuous as the most 
gorgeous fish of our seas—the male of Labrus mixtus. Considering 
that the wrasses are poor eating, I thought they looked rather out 
of place, and would be much better adorning our public aquaria ! 
There were also the gar-fish (Belone vulgaris) and the sand-eel 
(Ammodytes lancea), which is said to be caught in thousands off 
the little island of Herm. The horse mackerel (Scomber trachurus) 
was represented, and the lesser spotted dog-fish (Scyllium canicula), 
said to be eaten by the poor among the French in the island. I also 
noticed among the “ shell-fish,” the ormer—heaps of the beautiful 
shells of which, strewed among the kitchen-refuse near the harbour, 
gave me a feeling of regret. ‘There were some fresh specimens of 
the common egg-urchin (Echinus sphera) on one of the slabs, but 
I did not learn that they were used as food. 
In the market at Jersey the wrasse made a good show; there 
was also that beautiful and highly organized marine fish the basse 
(Labrax Lupus), and the rock whiting (Merlangus carbonarius), 
which make such a fine show at the Brighton Aquarium. Among 
Crustacea, there was the spinous spider-crab (Mata Sguinado), 
