364 



THE ZOOLOGIST. 



men in turn fish for Sprats with a drift-net, for Soles and other 

 fish with a trawl ; Shrimps are dredged for at other times. 



I can conceive of no more delightful an experience for an 

 amateur fisherman, or an ardent student of marine zoology, 

 than to ship aboard one of these little vessels and spend a fine 

 summer's day trawling in the bay. I overhauled several of the 

 recently returned boats, finding in the refuse among the billage 

 quite a number of species of fish — Gobies, tiny WhitingB, Bibs, 

 Flounders, Pogges, Plaice, Soles, Suckers, &c, not to mention 

 Sand-Stars, " Five Fingers," Swimming Crabs, Hermits, various 

 Shells, Alcyonium, and even Sea- Anemones. On the sands 

 around several of the boats, " stowed " already for the morrow's 

 fishing, I saw heaps of " common objects " that would have 

 delighted Gosse ; but I considered the fishermen exceedingly 

 wasteful, for many of the young Soles, Skate, and other flat 

 fishes should have been returned to the sea. 



I watched several of the fishermen measuring their catches of 

 Soles on a piece of board notched to regulation length, those 

 reaching a fishmonger's standard being placed in one heap and 

 immediately gutted. I understood they obtained eighteenpence 

 a pair for these, the smaller ones being retailed at proportionate 

 prices by the men themselves. From forty to a hundred Soles 

 did not seem to me to be a bad haphazard catch ; but Southwold 

 fishermen, like others, are sad grumblers, and bewail the de- 

 parted glory of their offshore fishing. They may have reason, 

 considering the waste referred to ; they grumble also about the 

 harbour, but several are beginning to use it. Among the 

 catches I observed several Lobsters and Edible Crabs. I was 

 severely bitten by a Swimming Crab {Holsatus), which has a 

 most peevishly strong grip. My finger was inflamed for hours 

 after, and I can quite sympathise with the fishermen's wholesome 

 detestation of the species, which is abundant and extremely 

 agile. I enumerated nineteen species of fish in my ramble 

 round. 



Anent the measuring of Soles, Mr. W. S. Everitt, of Lowestoft, 

 related to me an amusing story of Frank Buckland's credulity, 

 when visiting Lowestoft as a fish-commissioner : — 



"I am delighted with your offshore fishermen," said the 

 genial Buckland. "Why, I actually saw one fellow whom I 



