448 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



An extraordinary inshoring of Whitings took place in October 

 and November, when sea-anglers, from veteran sportsmen to 

 tiny urchins, repaired to the piers and sat armed "with all sorts 

 and conditions of tackle, returning often "with big catches. 

 Some urchins discovered a sort of basin at the harbour-mouth 

 works, wherein at low water a number of small Whitings were 

 daily imprisoned when the tide fell. It is needless to say that 

 this pool was well fished, and occasionally a surprising number 

 of fish were captured, the boys using a quill-fioat in the still 

 water, and thoroughly enjoying their novel method of fishing. 



On November 12th I received from a Mr. Allen, of Cromer, 

 an hermaphroditic Herring. He had slightly cooked the fish, 

 and was about to eat it, when its queer mingling of roe and milt 

 caught his attention. I found the milt a third larger than 

 the roe, which fitted into the male organ somewhat after the 

 fashion of a razor-blade in its handle, and was similarly pro- 

 portionate. 



Mr. Kobert Beazor, Sen., fish-merchant, informs me that 

 the Smelt fishery was below the average, the long-prevailing 

 winds from the south-east making the working of the Gorleston 

 nets impossible owing to the surf ; and the water on easterly 

 winds is so " sheer " (transparent) that the fish are not so easy 

 of capture as when the water is " thick" or "muddled." The 

 latter conditions also apply to the rivers and Breydon. I 

 believe the Dutch fishing was much more remunerative. Mr. 

 Beazor mentions a considerable capture of Salmon-Trout in 

 September-end, when in a few days there was a goodly supply ; 

 these mostly come from the sea-coast villages north of Yarmouth. 

 His heaviest Trout was one weighing IO5- lb. The midsummer 

 Herring fishery was below the average. Two Herrings he 

 secured measured and weighed respectively : one, 16 in. long, 

 16 oz. ; one, 15 in., 15 oz. I myself did well one day in the early 

 autumn ; with one sweep of a Smelt-net I secured one hundred 

 and twenty fair-sized fish on Breydon. 



Norfolk Seals. — That the Common Seal {Phoca vitulina) has 

 become not only quite abundant on the sand -banks of the Wash, 

 but a pest to the line-fishermen, is very apparent, and some 

 small stir has been made by those interested with a view to 



