5430 Fishes. 



happened to be Leach's, which, having a forked tail, bears a striking resemblance to 

 the chimney swallow. Moreover, petrels are very rarely met with far inland, and 

 when so found, are generally in a dying or exhausted state, so I think it not only 

 unlikely, but highly improbable, that it should have given rise, as suggested by 

 Mr. Bloomfiekl, to that most absurd notion entertained even by many of the most 

 eminent and scientific naturalists of the last century, with regard to the supposed 

 periodical submersion of the swallow tribe. What peculiarity in their habits may 

 originally have led to this and other ridiculous speculations and fabulous tales, 

 handed down to us by so many of the old authors, I will not nndertake to decide ; 

 at the same time, I must observe, although I have remarked it before in my notes on 

 the migration of swallows, that they generally, if not invariably, frequent, on their 

 first arrival, the most sheltered and secluded ponds and lakes, where insects, at that 

 early season, are alone to be found in sufficient abundance. I have also noticed their 

 peculiar habit of crowding together on twigs and brambles, when wet or fatigued, so 

 think it not unlikely that, in their awkward attempts to secure a footing, some may 

 get accidentally immersed, when an ignorant lad or peasant might, under the 

 circumstances, be excused for thinking that the poor half-drowned swallows he had 

 seen clinging to the willows or other aquatic trees, had one and all risen from the 

 depths below! — Henry W. Hadfield ; Tunbridge, January 6, 1857. 



Fish pumped out of a dark Well. — On Saturday, August 9, 1856, as my porter was 

 pumping water from a well, situated under and between the foundation walls of my 

 house, a small living fish passed up with the water; it did not long survive, being 

 injured in passing through the pipes and valves of the pump. The well is perfectly 

 in the dark and unconnected with any pure stream or pond from which the fish could 

 have passed into it. The water of the well is merely surface-water, is of a yellow 

 colour, froths much on agitation, and contains organic matter and ammonia. It is 

 possible the ovum of the fish may have passed through some small opening com- 

 municating with the well from some neighbouring drain, through which the overflow 

 from a cistern supplied with Thames water may pass; but this I am unable to trace, 

 and the well appears to be far away from any such source. Leaving the mystery of 

 the fish's origin out of the question, the fact is remarkable from the circumstance of its 

 existence in such a situation, quite out of reach of some of the most important of 

 those influences which regulate the healthy development of that class of animals. 

 1 know nothing of fishes, but am inclined to think this is a dace or bleak; it is 

 about two inches in length. — Henry Deane ; Clapham Common, December 4, 1856. 



Two forms of Teeth in Sharks. — As the forms of the teeth of sharks are always of 

 importance in identifying the fossil remains of the family, you may perhaps think this 

 worth inserting. In examining the jaws of two large female specimens of the 

 common tope (Galeus vulgaris, Cuv.), I found that, besides the usual form of teeth, 

 viz. those obliquely triangular, and denticulated of the outer edge alone (see fig. Yarr. 

 ii. p. 510), there is a second distinct form : these are much smaller, very concave, the 

 points being much curved inwards, not oblique, the apex being perpendicular 

 to the centre of the base, and five to seven strong denticulations on either side; 

 they formed a small outer row. I also observed a character not mentioned by either 



