226 
THE RHAETIC BONE BEDS 
Mr. F. G. Aflalo, F.Z.S., etc. (the well known writer on 
Sea Fish), writes : “ Yes ; large sea fish often have masses 
of stones, gravel, cultch, etc., in their stomach. Whether 
this is taken purposely, as birds swallow grit, to aid in 
digesting hard food, or whether it is merely swallowed 
incidentally for the sake of anemones, herring spawn, etc., 
adhering to it, is guess work. How can we tell, after all ? ” 
In a further note he writes : “ I think that fishes furnish 
us with a very simple explanation, for their stomachs often 
contain stones. These may have been swallowed in one 
or tw^o ways. Either the fish took them down voluntarily, 
as we know many birds do, to act as millstones and grind 
indigestible food, or else the stones were swallowed along 
with the herring spawn, anemones, or other adhesive 
delicacy that covered them. Either explanation is 
sufficiently probable to command support, and the chief 
thing is that these stones do undoubtedly occur in the 
inside of living fishes, so that there is no difficulty in 
accounting for their presence in the fossil deposits.” 
The Director of the Marine Biological Station, Millport, 
N.B. (Mr. Alexander Gray), writes : “ I think you are 
right in your surmises regarding the association of pebbles 
and fish remains in the Rhsetic Beds, as I know it is a 
matter of common knowledge among fishermen that such 
are often found in cod, saithe, etc.” 
The Director of the Marine Biological Station at Ply- 
mouth (Dr. E. J. Allen), writes : “ The enclosed note from 
Mr. S. Pace, one of our naturalists, may be useful to you, 
as it records his ov/n personal observation : — 
h . . with regard to the occurrence of apparently undrifted 
pebbles in the Rhaetic Bone Bed, I have no doubt in my 
own mind that the suggestion of Mr. Wickes affords the 
true explanation. Although I have not noted the 
presence of stones within the stomach in any Gadoid fish, 
yet they are by no means uncommonly met with in those 
