GENERAL NOTES. | 465 
rested on the tree root, and the root-like portion which issues 
from the rhizome had been cut off; so that, whether it is at- 
tached to the root of the tree still remains an open question. 
Taylor’s plate gives the idea that the root of the tree penetrates 
‘the rhizome, but such is not the case. I trust on some future oc- 
casion to trace the attachment of !the piece that I have left. A 
rigorous search failed to discover any more specimens alive, but 
I picked up several fragments of one which had been destroyed 
by the falling of a decayed tree. I found it necessary to place 
the male and female flowers in spirit as soon as possible, as they 
lost much of their shape in drying, and appeared as if they would 
be injured by mould. A few hours after placing them in alco- 
hol I noticed that the spirit had extracted a rich brown colour. 
oily Fs 
RARE FISHES.—A specimen of what I suppose to be Torpedo 
Fairchild: of the N. Z. Cat. of Fishes, was taken by a fisherman 
in the Napier Harbour, and has come into my possession. Com- 
pared with the figure given in the catalogue I notice that the 
_ spiracles are small and slightly lunate instead of large and cir- 
cular as in the figure. The colour of the upper surface was a 
purplish brown with an irregular cordate marking in the centre 
of the back, under surface yellowish white, tinged with pink to- 
wards the head. The area occupied by the electrical organs was 
well defined and the somewhat hexagonal shape of the columnar 
bodies could be seen, especially after the fish had been well 
washed in fresh water ; the mucous coating that had dried upon 
the skin then peeled off and the small pores through which this 
shining matter is poured could be traced: they are very numer- 
ous in the thick part of the body in front of the eyes and follow 
the true outline of the body at the junction with the pectoral 
fins, towards the tail. Judging by a short translation from a 
German source, in the January number of the Ann. and Mag. of 
Nat. Hist for this year, the classification of the Torpedinei is 
being revised, and probably the results of the critical examina- 
tion of the number of columns in the various species will even- 
tually be published. 
Since writing the above, I have had an interview with 
another stranger, or, at any rate, a fish seldom «taken 
in this Bay. He, or rather she, was caught by the captain 
of one of the small steamers belonging to the Port, and placed 
on exhibition in the town as a “Tiger Shark.” I went to see it, 
and found that it was not a Tiger Shark (Zamna) at all, but, 
judging from the serrated triangular teeth, a White Shark 
(Carcharodon ?). The specimen was 12 feet long, and looked a 
most formidable monster. The spiracles were extremely minute. 
The tail was large, and the lower lobe was nearly equal in size 
to the upper, which had a peculiar notch and projection near the 
end. Where the tail joined the body was a deep notch both 
above and below. In the neighbourhood of this notch I picked 
off a considerable number of very curious parasitic animals. At 
present I can find no description with which I can identify them 
