A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



over I inch. The adult female is securely fastened to its host by strong 

 branched horns, three in number, which are buried in the tissues of various 

 parts of the gill arches.' ^ Of the family Chondracanthids, Mr. A. Scott 

 mentions Oralien asellinus (Linn.), ' on the gills of a yellow Gurnard {Trig/a 

 hirundo) from the offshore station between Lancashire and Isle of Man ' ; 

 from the same quarter Chondracanthus cornutus (O. F. Miiller), 'on the gills 

 of Plaice (Pleuronectes platessd)^ and he says: 'What appears to be a variety of 

 this species occurs on the gills of the Flounder (P. Jiesus) from the Barrow 

 Channel and other parts of the Lancashire coast'; C. clavatus (Bassett-Smith), 

 'on the gills of Lemon Soles {Pkuronectes microcephalus),' from Barrow 

 Channel; C. solece (Kroyer), which Bassett-Smith regards as a synonym of 

 C. cornutus. C. lophii (Johnston) is recorded by Mr. I. C. Thompson in 

 1893 under the name Lernentoma lophii, with the observations that ' numer- 

 ous specimens of this species were recently found by Mr. Corbin adherent 

 to Cod, Ling and Lophius taken off Barrow. The female is from \X.o \ inch 

 or more in length, and is adorned with numerous blunt spines or tubercles 

 over the surface of the body. The oviferous tubes are very long, slender and 

 twisted. The males of this genus are very small and rudimentary, living 

 parasitically on the body of the female.' * In the neighbouring family of 

 Lernasopodids A. Scott reports Charopinus dalmannii (Retzius), ' in the 

 spiracles of the Grey Skate {J^aia batis) from the offshore station between 

 Lancashire and Isle of Man ' ; Brachiella ovalis (Kroyer), 'attached to the 

 gill-rakers of the Common Gurnard {Trigla gurnardus) from the offshore 

 stations,' and of Anchorella uncinata (O. F. Miiller) Mr. Thompson says that 

 ' several specimens were found by Mr. Corbin on the gills of whiting taken 

 in the Mersey estuary.' ' 



Lastly we have to notice the sub-class Thyrostraca, better known as 

 cirripedes or barnacles. The fact that many of the species, whether pedun- 

 culate or simply sessile, attach themselves to all sorts of moving objects, 

 living or lifeless, makes their distribution wide and irregular. It is quite 

 unlikely that Lancashire should have any species peculiar to itself, but, with 

 a reasonable share of the ordinary species found round our coasts, it probably 

 has numerous exotic forms brought to it on the hulls of vessels from all parts 

 of the globe. With whales may come the balanid Coronula, and on the Coro- 

 nula may appear the lepadid Conchoderma. It is not, however, in these that 

 the county has any separate and individual right to pride itself. Its true 

 interest in the Thyrostraca goes back to ancient times and is founded on 

 Gerarde's account of ' The Goose tree. Barnacle tree, or the tree bearing 

 Geese.' After explaining its shell-bearing quality, he goes on to say, ' which 

 shells in time of maturity doe open, and out of them grow those little liuing 

 things, which falling into the water do become fowles, which we call Barna- 

 cles ; in the North of England, brant Geese ; and in Lancashire, tree Geese ; 

 but the other that do fall upon the land, perish and come to nothing. Thus 

 much by the writings of others, and also from the mouthes of people of those 

 parts, which may very well accord with truth. 



'But what our eies have seene, and handes have touched, we shall 

 declare. There is a small Island in Lancashire called the Pile of Foulders, 



1 Trans. Llverp. Biol. Soc. xv. 2 zo. 2 Op. cit. vii. 211. « Loc. cit. p. 2 1 3 . 



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