2856 Fishes, Sfc. 



Capture of the Sun-fish (Orthogariscus mola) off Poole. — In the ' Poole Herald ' 

 of the 13th of June, 1850, we find the following notice of the capture of this fish, 

 which may prove interesting : " On Monday last, as a vessel called the Ferret, of 

 Cowes, was coining up the river, the persons on board observed a huge monster in 

 pursuit of another fish : and a short time after an immense conger eel was seen in the 

 mud (it being low water), also what at first was thought to be a porpoise. The con- 

 ger, which was about 5 feet in length, was at once taken by the master of the Ferret ; 

 the other being of immense size and weight, required the assistance of several men to 

 get it off the mud into the boat ; its weight is considered to be about 4 or 5 cwt., and 

 it proved to be a sun-fish. It was exhibited throughout the day, but no one seemed 

 to have any knowledge of the nature or history of this fish.'' And the editor of the 

 same paper remarks, that one was caught seven years ago off Bournemouth, Hamp- 

 shire. — J. Mc'Intosh ; Mitten Abbey, June 13, 1850. 



Occurrence of the Boar-fish (Capros aper) at Bridgewater. — I have to-day ob- 

 tained a handsome specimen of this interesting fish from Bridgewater Bay, in the 

 Bristol channel : it was a male with ripe roe. — W. Baker ; Bridgewater, May 12, 1850. 



The common Periwinkle (Turbo littoreus) viviparous. — A friend of mine, a good 

 out-door naturalist, has this week brought me a considerable number of specimens 

 with their ovaria full of living young ones, in their spiral shells. — Id. 



The Gordius supposed to be parasitic. — I was quite at a loss, at first, to account 

 for the immense numbers of Gordii which suddenly made their appearance in our 

 garden during the late wet weather. In walking round one evening I counted thirty 

 turning about the plants and twisting on the ground, and I have no doubt could have 

 found many more had I been so inclined. The first thing which struck me, was their 

 special abundance in particular spots, and I noticed they were particularly plentiful 

 on some paeonies, the roots of which I knew to be infested with the larva of Hepiali, 

 then in chrysalis, from which I strongly suspect the Gordii had made their escape. I 

 recollect when at Luss, some years ago, two or three large Gordii emerging from a 

 larva of Anarta Myrtilli, which they destroyed as a brood of ichneumons would have 

 done. Their powers of climbing seem to be considerable : I noticed several which 

 had mounted to the very tops of the bushes, twining round the twigs like snakes. — 

 R. F. Logan; Duddingston, near Edinburgh, June 14, 1850. 



Saturnia Carpini. — I have bred two specimens of this moth this year ; one ap- 

 peared in the middle of April and the other in the middle of May, both females. 

 Three of the larvae found together, were brought to me in the autumn, and they 

 almost immediately formed their beautiful cocoons upon the same branch of white- 

 thorn : one I gave away, and the other two produced the imago exactly at the inter- 

 val of a month. Mr. Tompkins (Zool. 2793) relates an instance of its appearance 



