18 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



an example with faint spots and ocellations well down below 

 the lateral line — two-thirds down the fish ; but the under part 

 was normal. Its excess of markings made it somewhat con- 

 spicuous. I had hoped, sooner or later, to meet with a Spanish 

 Mackerel (Scomber colias). Another example, measuring 16 in., 

 with a girth of 8 in., was brought to me on Nov. 9th with very 

 similar markings — a sort of faint fretwork of jumbled ocellations, 

 but the absence of a swim-bladder and every other characteristic 

 of the type (S. scomber) made its identification satisfactory. It 

 would be curious to add that this, like a number of other 

 "curios," as they term them, caused their possessors to reach 

 me in a somewhat unintelligible and highly laudatory manner, 

 having on their way exhibited them at every familiar public- 

 house, a trick conducive to free drinks from an admiring or 

 interested circle. 



At the latter part of the Mackerel fishing there appeared to 

 be a decided immigration of Dog-fishes ; so numerous must they 

 have been that great numbers of the Mackerel were taken out of 

 the nets with their backs badly bitten ; others had their bellies 

 bitten through, their sexual organs (roes and milts) and entrails 

 having been entirely drawn out. These " broken " fish, often 

 fine ones, were sold to hawkers, who very readily disposed of 

 them amongst the poor. The fisher-folk had a mild revenge in 

 skinning the netted Dog-fishes, whose trimmed carcases were 

 sold from the same barrows on which were exposed their victims. 



Early in June Herrings taken off the coast were in fine con- 

 dition and noticeably fat, some were exceedingly large. I have 

 note of an example measuring 15 in., with a girth of 7| in., 

 weighing 14 oz. A full normal Herring measured on Nov. 8th 

 10£ in. by 5£ in. 



It is very unusual to find a Dab (Pleuronectes limanda) dis- 

 coloured on the under surface ; I obtained one, however, in the 

 third week in June, an 11 in. example, coloured on both sides, 

 with the exception of the under " face " or reverse side of the 

 head. Another came to hand, about the same size, with five 

 red spots on each side of the upper surface near the margins of 

 the dorsal and anal fins. 



A Monk-fish (Squatina vulgaris), 13 in. in length, was captured 

 in a shrimp-net on July 13th. Subsequently other and larger 



