UNNATURAL NATURAL HISTORY 53 
sent day, yet the majority of sea-serpent 
stories, at all events, must be regarded 
as “ terminological inexactitudes ” which 
can only be received with a “ pinch of 
salt.” 
A very peculiar story, regarded as true in 
days gone by, was that of the Barbary Lamb, 
a creature supposed to be half animal and 
half vegetable, this remarkable freak being 
figured in old woodcuts as a lamb-like animal 
hanging from the branches of a tree with the 
posterior end of its anatomy enclosed in 
foliage. 
Of an equally sensational nature is the 
story of the barnacle-goose, a bird that was 
said to originate from ship-barnacles. That 
the story was accepted as genuine by people 
of intelligence may be judged by stating that 
Sir Robert Moray, first President of the Royal 
Society, read a paper at a meeting of that 
body in 1661 in reference to the bird’s remark¬ 
able evolution ; while one writer even went so 
far as to state that he had observed barnacles 
fall from the face of rocks, and then gradually 
change into geese. It appears that the monks 
living at that period had no difficulty in 
accepting the mysterious nature of the barnacle- 
goose, and as the bird was considered to be 
neither flesh or born of flesh, it was therefore 
