2522 Quadrupeds. 



but when squeezed for some time below a water-pipe it becomes perfectly white, like 

 bleached ginger. 



Situated as Dunbar is, on a point much exposed to cold and unfavourable winds 

 from the north, it might be supposed that its marine zoology would be barren, espe- 

 cially in relation to those objects which thrive best and grow largest in a milder tem- 

 perature. Its bay and neighbouring sea, however, are known to be almost as fertile 

 as any locality in Scotland which has yet been investigated ; and a series of daily ob- 

 servations, combined with a certain degree of enthusiasm, cannot fail to reveal much 

 that a partial examination would overlook. 



If there exists a difference in the quality of animals, so to speak, it lies in the 

 size and not the beauty of the specimens. It is a remarkable fact, for instance, that 

 out of thousands of an abundant species of zoophyte, — Pennatula phosphorea, — which 

 is cast out of the fishing-boats, not a single individual can be found longer than two 

 inches ; while on the west coast, as is well known, the same object, when gathered 

 from sheltered situations, measures five inches ; and besides, the colour of the small 

 Pennatula got at Dunbar is dark red. The common Echinus, or sea-urchin, and the 

 Spatangus, are other examples of a stunted growth ; but the fishermen assert that the 

 former is found attached to the sides of the Bass rock, in the Frith of Forth, as large 

 as a man's fist, though true it is that in deep water hundreds exist in a diminutive 

 form. Those affixed to the rock have shelter for growth ; but the less favoured, and 

 by far the greater portion of the urchin population, are without support and stunted — 

 a dwarfing influence which may be attributed to the nature of their habitat, in the 

 cold and restless German Ocean. 



But bleak and inhospitable as the scene may appear, it is not devoid of interest ; 

 there is enough to repay the trouble of research. It yields a fair proportion of the 

 zoophytes, corallines, lithophytes and sponges, described by Dr. Johnston in his 

 much-valued works ; and is also famous as being the shore where the indefatigable 

 Captain Laskey pursued his studies in Conchology with so much success, and increased 

 the catalogue of British shells. Since the termination of his labours, many years 

 ago, the field has been unoccupied, without even an accidental visitor to record its 

 productions. 



Kobert Gray. 



West-end, Govan, near Glasgow, 

 June 12, 1849. 



Reply to the Inquiry of Mr. Duff as to the best mode of preparing Skeletons (Zool. 

 2474). — I have for many years procured clean and perfect specimens of small species 

 of Mammalia, birds, reptiles and fishes, by means of larvae of Dermestes lardarius. 

 To prepare the specimens, I skin them, remove the viscera, and as much of the flesh 

 as I can cut away with little trouble ; place them in position, on a piece of wood or 

 cork, and fix them with pins ; then put them into a box containing the insects. 

 Frogs, toads, newts, and soft-skin fishes, do not require skinning, but the viscera 

 should be removed, and the specimens pinned out on a piece of wood or cork. Fishes 

 with firm scales I preserve with the skin on one side, showing the skeleton on the 

 other. To prepare a specimen I cut away one side of it, leaving half the head, the 



