26 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
haul the nets on board having failed, the men tried to tow their 
tumultuous catch into port, but in a few minutes every fish had 
torn its way through and escaped, leaving only the tattered nets 
behind. News, too, had just come to hand that the Mevagissey 
fleet of sixty boats had returned to its moorings after one of the 
worst autumn Pilchard seasons onrecord. On account of theabun- 
dance of Dogfish the nets could not be left in the water, and even 
when a catch was made the Pilchards were devoured, and the nets 
rendered useless before they could be hauled on board. At every 
fishing port along the south a similar tale was being told, and the 
autumn Pilchard fishery last year threatens to be a disastrous 
failure. The loss inflicted by these predatory vermin of the sea 
during the past few years has excited considerable public interest 
in the county, and sundry schemes have been put forward for 
lessening the evil. One of these is to draw the ‘‘ dogs” together 
in some convenient place by an extensive dumping of fish-offal in 
the sea, and then to blow them to pieces with dynamite. Attempts 
have also been made to popularise the fish as an article of food 
under the recently adopted name of ‘Flake.’ When skinned 
and cooked fresh the flesh is firm, wholesome, and palatable, 
but for various reasons it is most readily saleable when smoked, 
in which condition its quality and flavour are excellent. With 
a good and reliable market for the fish, special nets could be 
prepared for its capture, and its presence might then be turned 
to profit. 
A stray specimen of Centrina salviani, Risso, was trawled in 
twenty-six fathoms near the Wolf, and was described by Cornish 
(Zool. 1887, p. 221). The Spinous Shark (Hchinorhinus spinosus, 
Gmel.) has been frequently obtained along the south coast, 
twelve county specimens being mentioned by Day. One 5 ft. 
4 in. long was brought in by a trawler at Newlyn on Dec. 10th, 
1899, and one 7 ft. 5 in. in length was caught with hook and 
line in Falmouth Bay on July 4th, 1902. The Angel-fish or 
Monk-fish (Rhina squatina, L.) is fairly common in spring and 
summer along the south, and is occasionally taken on the north 
coast, especially at St. Ives. It is caught in trammels, on long 
lines, and at times in trawls, and is used by the crabbers for 
bait. The Torpedo (Torpedo nobiliana, Bonap.) has been fre- 
quently captured round the coast from Polperro to St. Ives, and 
