1608 Fishes. 



and that it often rose up with gentle undulations, sometimes, however, sinking below 

 the surface so that merely a stripe indicated the rapid course of the gigantic body. 

 On the same morning a lad, by name Abraham Abrahamsen Hagences, was out fishing 

 in the Rognefiord, not far from Lundenoes, and just ready to throw out his line, when 

 he, as he asserts, became aware that at about one hundred fathoms distance a monster 

 with a head as large as a Fcering boat (about twenty feet long) and a long body lay 

 upon the sea like large kegs aud was nearing his boat : seized with a panic he exerted 

 all his strength to reach the shore, and as the animal, apparently following him, was 

 only about forty fathoms off, he leaped ashore, drew up the boat and ran up the bank, 

 whence he viewed the monster which had by this time approached the shore within 

 twenty fathoms. He says that that part of the body which was visible was about sixty 

 feet in length, and that its undulating course was similar to the eel : that the colour 

 of the back was blackish, shining strongly, and as far as he could distinguish there 

 was a whitish stripe under the belly. Report also says that the sea-serpent was seen 

 by several persons in Biomfiord causing a great deal of dread, but of this our inform- 

 ant wants authentic accounts. Our informant further says that he has no reason 

 whatever to doubt the truth of the story of the man and his wife, or the trustworthi- 

 ness of the lad Abraham, except as far as that his fears may have caused him to see 

 several things through a magnifying glass. 



Notes on the Fishes of the Land's End. By R. Q. Copch, Esq. 

 M.R.C.S.L., &c. 



(Continued from p. 1419). 



Fishing Frog, Monk, Sea-devil, Lophius piscatorius. Common at 

 all seasons, but is more frequently seen during the fine weather of 

 summer and autumn, for at these periods it approaches nearer the 

 shore than it does in winter. The habits of this fish are as remark- 

 able as any found on our shores. It is a huge, unshapely creature, 

 and is of a soft, gelatinous, and flaccid consistence. Its mouth is 

 enormous, extending round its expanded front, and so far back as to 

 be on a line with the eyes, and when expanded seems to be prolonged 

 almost to the pectoral fins. But great as it is, it seems only propor- 

 tionate to an inordinate appetite. The creature is remarkably inac- 

 tive and apparently moves with difficulty. This antipathy to action 

 is strangely contrasted with the enormity of its appetite, to satisfy 

 which, it has recourse to stratagem in the capture of its prey. It 

 generally frequents sandy bays in moderately deep water, and by the 

 aid of its hand-like pectoral fins, it forms for itself a cavity in 

 the sand in which it lies. The colour of the back is sandy, and this 

 appearance is still further increased by the sand which has been 



