276 Notes and Comments. 
BANKS’ OAR FISH. 
The illustration below is from a quaint and well-preserved 
water-colour drawing of Banks’ Oar Fish, a specimen of which 
is in Middlesbrough Museum. The drawing is dated 1738, 
Ceil, Conin. 
‘The Fish which is represented in the above drawing came on shore alive at Newlyn, in 
Mountsbay, Cornwall, on Saturday, the 23rd February, 1738. Its length exclusive of the tail 
was 63 feet; depth 103 inches; thickness 24 inches ; and weight 40 pounds.’ 
and contains the description in contemporary handwriting, 
a copy of which is given. It is interesting to find this old 
record of the occurrence of this curious fish. 
MONOGRAPH OF MOLLUSCA. 
Part 18 of Mr. J. W. Taylor’s well-known ‘Monograph of 
the Land and Fresh-Water Mollusca of the British Isles’ has 
recently been published, and deals entirely with the distribution, 
etc., of Helix nemoralis and Helix hortensis. In addition there 
are plates showing the varieties and distribution of Helix 
aspersa. One of these plates we are kindly permitted to re- 
produce (Plate XV.), and it will well illustrate the excellent 
nature of Mr. Taylor’s work. 
-O: 
We regret to notice a growing tendency to use the word ‘ organising,’ 
in connection with Hon, Secretaryships. Are not all Hon. Secretaries 
‘organising’ secretaries? If not, they should not be secretaries. 
We have seen a circular prepared for a Nature Study Summer School 
in Yorkshire, on the front of which there is a photograph of a ‘ Nightingale’s 
nest and eggs’. Asa matter of fact there is no nest, and the eggs are cer- 
tainly not those of a Nightingale, but are evidently those of a Nightjar. 
This seems rather a bad start ! 
A meeting of the Marine Biological Committee of the Yorkshire 
Naturalists’ Union will be held at Scarborough, September 22-26. Accom- 
modation may be obtained at a convenient boarding-house at 6/- a day, 
including the use of room for exhibits, etc. The Committee will be glad 
to welcome all members interested in the subject. There will be a tem- 
porary exhibition of marine life, shells, etc. Excursions have been arranged, 
and there will be discussions, papers, etc., in the evenings. It should 
prove extremely interesting. Scarborough is very rich in marine life ; 
microscopic shells are more abundant than on any other place on the 
Yorkshire coast. Those who wish to attend should send in their names to 
Rev. F. H. Woods, Bainton Rectory, Driffield, : 
Naturalist 
