12 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



much like a rake with six barbed spikes running vertically with 

 the 10- ft. shaft. As the tide falls the Flounders, which may 

 have been scudding around and among the Zostera, scutter down 

 into the runs, and as these run dry those which do not 

 '* ground " get into the larger drains that do not altogether empty 

 of water. The Flounders search for Shrimps, Gobies, and other 

 small prey among the weeds that collect in eddies, or on the 

 rougher shelly grounds that scrunch audibly under the stabbing 

 dart, as the tines pierce the layer of empty clam-shells. The 

 fish, as the tide returns, gather in the vicinity of the mouths of 

 the runs, waiting for greater depths in which they may roam 

 and feed when the flood-tide makes. 



I secured 70 Flounders, some up to 10 in. in length, thick 

 and well-fleshed, not a few from 8 in. upwards being big in roe. 

 Fifty-four were right-handed fish, and 16 were left-handed, or 

 reversed. The difference is quickly apparent when one is 

 beheading the fish, as a left-handed example makes a different 

 handling of it necessary. Most were very dark brown on the 

 upper side, and several blotched and coloured on the under 

 surface. Two only, fresh from the sea, had not yet darkened the 

 yellowish-brown hue habitual when living in a sandy habitat. 

 One only was afflicted with parasitic growth, and this was con- 

 fined to the pectoral and anal fins. It corresponded with what 

 Dr. Lowe described in his Norfolk Fish List (Victorian History) 

 as a " skin disease resembling epithelioma — large fungous growths 

 cropping out all over the body. The granulations large and roe- 

 like — under the microscope, consisting of large nucleated cells." 



Inspector Donnison's half-yearly Reports on the Eastern 

 Sea Fisheries are as usual interesting, although not so bright 

 as on the early days before the war. The Norfolk Mussel 

 industry, as usual, looms up largely in its details. When some 

 3000 cwt. are sent away in a couple of months (December, 1914, 

 to January, 1915) from the north-western corner of the county, 

 one may imagine that the industry is not a small one. The 

 Inspector mentions that " a large quantity went by railway and 

 steamer to the wholesale merchants at Hull, taking the place of 

 the Dutch Mussels usually imported there." In the half-year 

 Report, ending September 30th, he states that "the quantity of 

 Mussels taken from the beds and layings in the Boston (Lines.) 



