NOTES AND QUERIES. 349 



I have put them in spirits for further consideration. June 13th. — Pilchards 

 are spawning about twenty miles from land. Congers full of roe ; grains 

 too small to be seen with the eye, but very distinct as seen through a 

 magnifying glass. Noted this day Crustacea, Rocinila dannoniensis. These 

 have been scarce on the rocks for some years ; in some seasons they come 

 in multitudes, and then the Sea-bream come and devour them. June 14th. 

 — Noted Crustacea, Couchea cylandricea, in stomach of Conger. Mounts 

 Bay boat here with three thousand Mackerel, at 6s. 6d. per 120. Noted 

 they had a very green appearance. Men report that where the Mackerel 

 are most abundant the sea has a very green appearance. This no doubt 

 is caused by the food of the Mackerel being of a green colour and in 

 such quantities as to alter the colour of the sea. Mackerel off our coasts, 

 when at their best, are of a very blue colour. Saw a Blue Shark, Squalus 

 glaucus, for the first time for the season. The Mackerel brought from 

 Mounts Bay were full of small Crustacea in stomach, but vei-y different 

 in form from those caught off our coasts. June 16th. — Messrs. Fox, of 

 Falmouth, directed my attention to the immense quantities of Crustacea 

 in stomach of Mackerel caught off the Scilly Isles. June 20th. — Had large 

 Mounts Bay Mackerel in Sandon Factory, full 1500, and noted they were 

 full of roe. Took roe-sac from one ; weight five ounces and a half. Found 

 238 eggs in one grain; the total number of ova in this Mackerel would 

 be 560,000. Noted Sandy Ray (Couch), again a female, and Chads (young 

 Sea-bream) for the first time for the season. June 24th. — First Pilchard 

 landed for the season here, from spawn caught about fifteen miles from 

 land. The whole family of Garfish, Esox belone, have now finished 

 spawning; proportion of sexes, about three females to one male. Male 

 much the smallest. These are very vicious fish, and use their beaks 

 violently. Noted that several of the males are very much lacerated in 

 the sides, evidently caused by the beaks of the Gars. — Mathias Dunn 

 (Mevagissey, Cornwall). 



Opah-fish in Shetland.— A fine specimen of the Opah-fish, Lampris 

 guttata, was taken off Unst, Shetland, on May 22nd, and forwarded by the 

 fishery ofiBcer to Prof. Ewart, University of Edinburgh. It measured four 

 feet in length and over two feet in depth, and has been handed over to 

 Prof. Turner, to enable him to complete an account of the fish begun some 

 years ago, when he received a somewhat smaller specimen from the Moray 

 Firth. 



CRTJSTACEA. 



Abnormal Growth in Cancer pagurus. — I have received a specimen 

 of the Common Edible Crab, Cancer pagurus, a female, measuring four 

 inches across the carapace, and therefore mature, in which the right pedi- 

 palps were normal, but instead of the usual left pedipalps a small " claw " 

 was developed, with arm, wrist, hand, and fingers all clearly defined, the 



