1028 The Zoologist — January, 1868. 



limpet of Vancouver's Island. I find, however, since my return from 

 Flamborough, that it answers the description given of the marine 

 worm known to zoologists as Phyllodore viridis. It is singular that 

 it should be found under the limpet, as the rock was perfectly smooth 

 at the place of attachment, and, as far as I could perceive, there was 

 no orifice by which it could have inserted itself beneath the shell. 

 Near this north landing-place the geologist will find some good 

 sections of the upper chalk formation, intersected at intervals with 

 narrow belts of flint, as regular as if laid down by rule and plummet. 

 The lower belt of flint, which is about a foot in thickness, and every 

 tide washed by the waves, is stained a beautiful rich purple-brown, 

 sometimes green or yellow. The limestone immediately in connexion 

 with this bed does not exhibit any of this rich colouring, which seems 

 to be peculiar alone to the lower chalk belt. In some instances this 

 colouring, matter appears to extend below the surface of the stone. 

 Have any of my readers observed the same thing ? and is this 

 colouring matter attributable to the action of the salt water on the 

 rock, or in any way connected with minute marine vegetation ? 

 I enclose a small portion of the coloured flint for Mr. Newman's 

 inspection. 



I went out this evening in a herring-boat from the south landing- 

 place, which opens into Bridlington Bay. The bay herring fishery 

 begins about the commencement of October and is continued often 

 till Christmas, the boats going out for the night, often in very rough 

 and inclement weather; occasionally, as the poor fellows said, every- 

 thing in the boat covered with snow. On this occasion we crossed the 

 bay till opposite the Bridlington Lights, and at the turn of the tide 

 shooting the nets, and allowing nets and boat to drift; and thus hour 

 after hour we slowly drifted seawards, without any very striking 

 incident to narrate. Once a porpoise came wallowing past, and soon 

 after a flock of wild geese passed flying southward. Several times 

 after dark I heard the notes of small birds passing over. I thought 

 I could make out the note of the lark ; sometimes it was a wild and 

 inexpressibly mournful note, which I failed to recognise. The hauling 

 in of the net is an interesting sight, every mesh glittering with phos- 

 phoric sparks, like a stream of fireflies pouring in over the gunwale, 

 the herrings gleaming like bars of silver. I noticed that these phos- 

 phoric gleams continued some time after the net was taken out of the 

 water: alter we had landed, in hauling the nets from the boat, they 

 still continued lo emit phosphoric sparks. 



