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burg, and the Swedish collection generally, and of these 
we give some notice below. They are exceedingly 
varied and, in addition to being of great scientific value, 
are also interesting to persons who have a monetary 
interest in our fisheries. Mr. Dickson’s name is already 
familiar to the readers of NATURE, in connection with 
his well-timed support of various Arctic expeditions 
fitted out from Sweden, and along with his exhibit, or as 
we may say forming part of it, are two cabinets of pre- 
parations of marine animals brought home in the Vega, 
embracing spoils of the sea, obtained by Baron Nordens- 
kjold in his famous voyage of 1878-80. It is much to be 
regretted that a catalogue of this exhibit has not been 
prepared, or at any rate cannot yet be obtained, but a 
glance at the jars is almost sufficient to show us that 
there are numerous “ finds’’ of great interest to zoolo- 
gists. The collections made of worms and crustaceans, 
of crinoids, sponges, and holothuridz are exceeding varied, 
and have been preserved with much care; they evince 
the activity of all concerned, particularly Dr. Julius 
Stuxberg, who was “‘lord of the dredge’’ in both of 
Nordenskjéld’s Yenisci voyages. The work done with 
the dredge has already been chronicled in the account 
given of the voyage of the Vega, and it is to be regretted 
that, from the want of a catalogue, we are unable to do 
more at present than make this general reference to the 
collection, which shows us how rich in varied life are the 
depths of the sea in the high latitudes visited by the pro- 
fessor. A portion of the skeleton of the famous Steller’s 
sea-cow (A/ytina stelleri) excites much attention. This 
animal, there can be little doubt, is now extinct; but 
when living, it must have been of large proportions, 
and not unlike a gigantic seal; it would probably be 
from 25 to 38 feet in length, and weigh 75 cwt., more 
or less. These remains are of signal importance, proving, 
as they do, what has been over and over again denied— 
the existence of a marine mammal of great size and 
power, herds of which used to browse on the fields of 
sea-weed. 
As may be supposed, “the Swedish Collection” is rich 
in preparations of the herring: there are over seventy | 
specimens of that fish (Clufea harengus), exhibiting its 
growth from the ova to its most complete stage—that of 
reproduction. The growth of the sprat (C. sfrattis) is 
likewise illustrated in a series of twenty-four preparations, 
which are of singular interest, so many persons believing 
that the latter fish is simply a young herring. It is cer- 
tainly a curious circumstance that the two fish are fre- 
quently caught in the same nets, but upon being handled 
a difference is at once felt, although when taken, both 
fish are of the same size. The sprat can be at once dis- 
tinguished from the young herring by means of its 
strongly serrated abdomen, and when closely examined, 
it presents several other differences alike of colour 
and form. A few preparations to show the growth 
of the pilchard (C. pilchardus) are also contained 
in the Swedish collection. Although the fisheries of 
Sweden are not of so much value as those of some 
other countries, great pains have been taken by those 
in charge of them to teach their fishermen how to make 
the most of what they have access to—hence the careful 
preparations of the herring. On the Cattegat an im- 
portant fishery has been organised, but taken as a whole 
the total value of the Swedish fisheries is not more than 
400,000/. per annum. But the Swedish fishermen, not 
content with the produce of their own waters, venture to 
the west coast of Norway and the west coast of Jutland, 
and find it to their interest to do so. Their chief fishing 
industry when at home, excepting their labours on the 
coast, consists in capturing the small Baltic herring, 
which they accomplish by means of seine nets, of good 
material, and very well made. The industry of herring 
catching, according to Mr. Oscar Dickson, is of great 
antiquity in Sweden, and the product of the shoals at 
particular times, has been of far greater value than the 
figures we have quoted above serve to indicate. From 
time to time the fishermen have been cheered by the 
advent of great bodies of herrings, and at one period, the 
take in some years, amounted to between two and three 
million barrels of eight cubic feet each perannum. The 
catch of herrings last year, the statistics of which have 
not yet been prepared, is said to have been “positively 
enormous.” It is somewhat remarkable, however, that the 
figures of the Swedish herring fishery, which were circulated 
at the Berlin Exhibition of 1880, on the authority of Dr. 
Lundberg, do not correspond with those for which we are 
indebted to Mr. Oscar Dickson; according to Lundberg 
the herring-fisheries of Sweden are of the value of 5,000,000 
marks annually, but the “millions’’ of barrels indicated 
by Mr. Oscar Dickson mean “ millions” of pownds (not 
shillings) sterling. It is to be hoped this discrepancy of 
figures will be explained. 
Besides these herring exhibits, there is much that is 
worthy of notice in the Swedish collection. There is, for 
instance, a display of the eggs of birds which prey on fish. 
This selection is from the prolific store of Mr. Ramberg, 
whose collection at Gothenburg is of world-wide celebrity. 
Some of the eggs which are shown are those of very rare 
birds. Thedevelopment and growth of one of our flat 
fishes (Rhombus levis) is exemplified in all stages of 
growth, some ot which are singular, as, for instance, the 
changing of the eye in the flounder from one side of its 
head to the other. We hope Mr. Oscar Dickson’s 
contributions and those from the Gothenburg Museum will 
be shown in London next year, and that Dr. A. W. Malm 
will again be in charge of the whole of the Swedish col- 
lection, which would require a much larger amount of space 
for its description than we have at present to bestow. 
One of the most interesting of the exhibits shown in 
the Fisheries Exhibition is Sir John Graham Dalzell’s 
smooth sea-anemone (Actinia mesembryanthemum), which 
is familiarly known as ‘Granny.’ It was taken from a 
rock pool at North Berwick, on the Firth of Forth, so 
long ago as August, 1828, and was then placed in the 
glass jar in which it is now exhibited. At that time it was 
thought it might be seven or eight years old, and its age 
at present may be over sixty years. During a period of 
twenty years “Granny” produced 334 young ones. In 
1851, after the death of Sir John, who, according to the 
article “ Aquarium,” in the ‘‘ Encyclopedia Britannica,” 
was a keen student of marine animals, several of 
which could always be seen at his house in a humble 
kind of aquarium, this anemone was placed in the 
possession of the late Prof. John Fleming, and was care- 
fully tended by him so long as he lived. Shortly before 
the death of the Professor, which took place in November, 
1857, ‘‘ Granny’’ unexpectedly gave birth, during a single 
night, to 240 living young actima. Dr. James McBain, 
R.N., who took a warm interest in zoological affairs, was the 
next custodian of the smooth sea-anemone, which was 
presented to him by the widow of Prof. Fleming; it 
remained in his custody until a few days before his death 
in March, 1879, when he presented it for safe keeping to 
Mr. John Sadler, curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens 
in Edinburgh. In the glass jar, along with “ Granny” 
three out of seven young ones are shown, born on 
February 18 last. As may be supposed, with such an 
interesting biographical record, Sir John Graham Dal- 
zell’s smooth sea-anemone is a decided feature among 
the “ exhibits.’’ Sir John was the author of “ Rare and 
Remarkable Animals of Scotland,’’ as well as numerous 
other works now forgotten. 
NOTES 
Sik H. Coe, K.C.B., late director of the South Kensington 
Museum and Inspector-General of the Science and Art Depart- 
ment, died on Tuesday night at his residence, Philueach Garuens, 
| April 20, 1882 
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