the power of a spider its death is speedy and sure.R. M.

[Will our correspondents bear in mind, both in this and other controverted subjects, that opinions are not proofs, and that little facts are superior to much conjecture. If R. M. will dissect out the poison apparatus which he believes to exist in the spider, and furnish us therewith, we will have it engraved for the benefit of our readers.-ED.]

WILKIN OF QUILKIN.-W.R. T. gives "Wilkin" as the local name at St. Austle (E. Cornwall) for the frog. Further west in that county, he will find it named "Quilkin," while the lizard rejoices in the appellation of "Padgey-pow."-E. W.

THE TRANSMISSION OF SHELLS.-For the benefit of young conchologists who may frequently be exchanging specimens through the medium of the post, a hint or two may be useful with regard to packing shells, so as to secure them from breakage. Having myself exchanged many species, I have frequently been disappointed on opening the boxes to find several good specimens broken by the ruthless stamp of the postman. Pill-bores are often employed to convey shells, &c., which, if properly packed, may be safe; but are never so unless secured by some stout protection, and in doing so the weight is increased, thus costing the sender a penny or twopence additional postage. To obviate this, the following method will be found exceedingly safe and very economical:-Procure a piece of light wood, in which make various small cells; in these specimens may be deposited with a little cotton wool, and a gummed label placed over each, with the name written thereon. The note or letter accompanying such package should be folded round the block, and the whole wrapped in paper and directed in the usual manner. It is very rarely that shells remitted in this way sustain damage. It is a good plan to have the block of such dimensions that when weighed with the letter and wrapper it will not exceed the half ounce and one ounce allowed for postage. Eggs of birds, too, not unfrequently sustain breakage for want of proper packing, and they are more liable to be broken from the use of too much wool or moss than from too little. Bran will be found more useful than wool, and cheaper. Wooden or tin boxes should always be used for eggs; cardboard boxes never.— John H. Ashford.

MARYGOLD (vide Sc. G., p. 107). That flower, which in the language of flowers is the emblem of grief, has received this sad honour only by a calembour, or play of the word; its name into patois, or vulgar language, is often soucicle, perfectly conforming to the etymology of "solis cyclus," circle of the sun; this word was afterwards contracted into souci. In German, "ringelblume" is the commonly used name; goldblume" is not much employed, but 'goudbloem" is the name in Flemish.-B., Melle.

ARROWROOT.-Another play of words, I believe. It is said in many books that arrowroot derives its name from the use of its plant by the Indians to cure wounds caused by poisoned arrows; do any of the readers of Sc. G. know an instance of this application? Mr. Lad. Netto, in "Apontamentos Sobre as Plantas do Brasil, 1866," says the name, in the Tupy language (of the Brasilian Indians) is aru-aru, which means "flour of flour," and was given to that starch for the minuteness of its grains, and that this name of aru-aru was changed to the English word arrowroot. Would not, then, the

whole story of the cure above mentioned be founded on a play of words ?-Bernardin, Melle, near Ghent

SWIFTS AND SWALLOWS. One single swift arrived here this year, on the 11th of April, and went directly to one of the nests occupied annually by them, and just to the one best situated. It was seen there daily flying around. The gros de l'armée" only arrived on the 20th. It is the first time since ten years that the swifts arrive here before the 21st of April. The swallows (H. rustica) arrived on the 2nd of April; in the last fifteen years, there have been but two instances of an earlier arrival (1852 and 1860). One of these birds is making its nest under the corniche of a gallery, in one of the playgrounds of the College, only ten or twelve feet above the ground, and seems quite undisturbed by the tumultuous hubbub of the youths, even when the football rebounds on the zinc roof of the gallery.-Bernardin, Melle, near Ghent.

SWORD-GRASS (answer to q., p. 119).-Of many English words, the best way to find the etymology is, to put to contribution the Flemish or the German language: applying this rule, I remark that all the Iris are called in German "Sword-lilies," and I conclude the common yellow-flag (Iris pseudo-acorus) is the plant alluded to; it seems to answer well to all the desiderata indicated in the query. I add a piece of gossip more: an ancient writer attributes to this flower the origin of the lilies in the arms of France. Clovis, the first Christian king of that country, having beaten the Alemani, all the Frank soldiers of his army took yellow-flag flowers in a neighbouring marsh, and adorned their helmets with them, which obliged the king to take for his arms three golden lilies instead of three crowns, which he had, according to P. Emile, or of three frogs, according to T. Nancker; for this last shield, Nostradamus called the King of France, in one of his centuries, "the king of the toads.' [Would this not be the origin of the name of Jack frog?] This opinion of the origin of the arms of France receives another probability in the form of the flowers on the shield; they are really Iris, and not Lilies.— Bernardin, Melle, near Ghent.

دو

LIMNEA INVOLUTA.-Mr. Tate, in his "British Mollusks,' quotes Dr. Evans's experience, he having searched in vain for signs of the outward expansion of the mantle of Limnea involuta. He will perhaps be interested in hearing that my attention was first attracted to this beautiful little creature by its curiously lobed mantle, when last summer, as a novice in "fresh-water animals," I was searching for objects of interest by the side of a canal. It strongly reminded me of the " Sundaybrushed hair" of some old rustic whom one has seen in a village church, with his few remaining long locks of silvery grey carefully combed up over his bald pate. I searched in vain for another specimen nearly the whole summer, until at last I came upon a preserve of them, whence I could carry home ten or twelve in a morning. I have now no greater favourites in my aquarium, and I love to watch the motions of these graceful animals, whether skimming along the sides of the glass, slooplike in their swift steady motion, and grazing as they go with their

pretty pink mouths, or swimming with long extended foot, inverted on the surface of the water. Most irascible little fellows they are, too; they fight with the flattened apex of the shell, and when interfered with in their course, they use the foot as a fulcrum, and then swing round to the right and left with such fury that they make even their monster cousins, L. stagnalis or L. auricularia, give way to their impetuosity, and "draw in their horns." I have often laughed heartily at seeing a dozen of them in a tumbler, swinging about, and elbowing their way among each other like police-constables in a crowd. The body is beautifully mottled with bright dark green and yellow, and the lobes of the mantle are of a pale amber colour, extending up in deep vandykes over the shell, seven on each side, till they meet at the top. This is seldom seen during the winter, as they hybernate. I shall be happy to exchange a few (with hints for finding them) in return for some living specimens of L. glutinosa, which I do not possess.-E. W.

FRITILLARIA MELEAGRIS.-About a month ago, being at a friend's house near the borders of Surrey and Sussex, I was astonished to find in some of the vases several plants of Fritillaria Meleagris. The spot where the plant grew was perhaps fifty or sixty yards in diameter, and over all this space the plant grew luxuriantly, here and there varying with a white flower. I was also told (though I could not verify this at the time, my stay being so short) that it grew in several places in the neighbourhood. I have always been somewhat sceptical as to its being a native: does the foregoing throw any light on the subject? Perhaps some of your correspondents can answer the question.-T. W.

NEWT EATING ITS CAST SKIN.-A male crested newt in my aquarium lately devoured his old skin in my presence. Some time since I mentioned having seen one of my frogs similarly engaged, and Holland, the keeper of the reptiles in the Zoological Gardens, who takes a very great interest in his charge, tells me that all kinds of salamanders do so; so that it seems to be a habit common to all Batrachia, and by no means peculiar to the toads.-W. R. Tate, Grove Place, Denmark Hill.

PIED ADDER. I have just deposited in the Reptile House of the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, a very beautiful adder, which exactly corresponds with the description given by Mr. Bell in his work of one sent him from Hornsey Wood-viz., that it has the "ground colour almost perfectly white, with all the markings jet black." I was lucky enough to catch him on Wisley Heath, Surrey, on Monday, May 7th.-W. R. Tate, Grove Place, Denmark Hill.

NEW ZEALAND EXHIBITION.-From the volume of "Jury Reports" of this Exhibition we find that special silver medals have been awarded to the following distinguished naturalists and scientific men for the reasons stated:-J. Gould and J. E. Gray, Ph. D. F.R.S., for the valuable services rendered to the natural history of New Zealand by their ornithological labours. To J. D. Hooker, M.D., F.R.S., Kew, for the able and zealous services he has rendered to the colony by his works on the botany of New Zealand. To Dr. Lander Lindsay, F.R.S.E., Perth, N.B., for his interesting researches on the brown coals of Otago and the properties of the Tutu plant. To Richard Owen, D.C.L., F.R.S., &c., for the valuable services rendered to the

natural history of New Zealand by his works on comparative anatomy, especially on the anatomy of the Moa. To P. L. Simmonds, F.S.S., editor of the Technologist, London, in recognition of special services to the New Zealand Exhibition, and his services generally towards the development of colonial industrial resources.

TOXONIDEA.-Your correspondent, Mr. Barkas of Newcastle, and other students of diatoms, may like to know that T. Gregoriana and T. insignis are not peculiar to the Northumberland coast; I have found them on the Norfolk coast, at Cromer, Wells, and Hunstanton, and in the noctilucæ from Yarmouth. In the Wells and Hunstanton gatherings T. insignis is the more common form, but T. Gregoriana is not rare. We find, I believe, all the sand forms decribed by Dr. Donkin on the Norfolk coast, and I have no doubt that other localities on the British shores would also yield the same forms. Diatoms are not (with some few exceptions) local: other conditions being similar, I should expect to find in these isles any form found in Europe; the sand forms on sandy shores, and alpine species in mountain streams. I may mention that the following may at present be considered local: Campylodiscus blypeus, found living in Breydon, Norfolk, by Mr. Wigham; Pinnularia cardinalis, living in the marshes at Hickling, Norfolk, by myself. Triceralium? exiguum, Ormesby broad: this species has long been a puzzle, it certainly is not a Triceratium; I am inclined to think that it is an Odontidium, and probably a variety of O. anomalum or O. parositicum. I have seen it parasitic on larger diatoms. The description in the "Synopsis of the British Diatomaceæ "does not accord with my own observations; I cannot detect any puncta on side view of valve; the margin is striate and the centre smooth. -Fred. Kitton, Norwich.

DEATH OF PROFESSOR Harvey.—We regret to announce that this eminent algologist can no more furnish replies to the queries of our correspondents regarding sea-weeds. He expired at Taunton on the 15th of May universally regretted by those who knew him; for to his scientific attainments, which were of no mean order, was added kindness and urbanity to all with whom he was brought in contact. This is a cloud which has cast its shadow across the Botanical Congress, for his labours are known and appreciated throughout the civilized world.

STINGING POWER OF SEA ANEMONES.-After long observation I have come to the conclusion that the Opelet Anthea Cereus, and probably any other species that is possessed of this power, only uses it when out of health. I have at all times freely captured them on the shore with my uncovered hand, and have never, under such circumstances, been stung; but when putting my hand into the tank where any were that were looking flabby and collapsed, I have many times been seized and much annoyed by the very painful effects the adherence of the flaccial tentacles produced. The parts so affected have speedily become mottled and rough, like the skin of a person with measles; and this appearance, and the sharp pain, like the stinging of nettles, has continued for hours.-M. D. P.

RED LOBSTERS.-Is the change in the colour of the shell in boiling chemical or mechanical ?W. H. K.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

ALL communications relative to advertisements, post-office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should be addressed to the PUBLISHER. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the EDITOR should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri. butions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whatever can be taken of communications which do not contain the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be withheld. We do not undertake to answer any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts unless sufficient stamps are enclosed to cover the return postage. Neither can we promise to refer to or return any manuscript after one month from the date of its receipt. All microscopical drawings intended for publication should have annexed thereto the powers employed, or the extent of enlargement, indicated in diameters (thus-X 320 diameters). Communications intended for publication should be written on one side of the paper only, and all scientific names, and names of places and individuals should be as legible as possible. Wherever scientific names or technicalities are employed, it is hoped that the common names will accompany them. Lists or tables are inadmissible under any circumstances. Those of the popular names of British plants and animals are retained and registered for publication when sufficiently complete for that purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon. ADDRESS NO. 192, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.

J. A. JUN.-The newspaper story is marvellous. Is it true? Unfortunately such accounts are seldom worth the space it cccupies to reprint them.

J. R.-The "British Amphibia" are contained in "Our Reptiles."

F. W. C.-The marygold is so common that the seed may be obtained anywhere.

G. E. F.-It is Chatomium elatum. For figure and description see Cooke's Microscopic Fungi, pages 175 and 221.

W. H. K.-Add molluscs. Two or three snails will soon reduce your conferva.

E. S. A.-Bats have often been observed on the wing during the day. See Zoologist, pp. 6, 35, 75, &c.

J. H. F.-You will observe (page 14) that we have already described a fountain, as applicable to the aëration of aquaria.

N. E. C.-We do not know a good work on falconry, but perhaps some of our correspondents can inform you.

E. H. F. For chloroform and balsam, see S.G. vol. 1. p. 45. B. I.-You would get more information on dissecting from "Davies on Preparing and Mounting Objects" than we could afford space to detail.

J. C. M.-The subject is a doubtful one, and we are not at present disposed to enter upon it more fully.

W. H. W.-Newts take to the water during the breeding season and afterwards to the land. They do not always (but generally) attach their ova to aquatic plants. For further particulars see "Our Reptiles," published by Hardwicke, 192 Piccadilly.

T. (Bristol). It is impossible to answer without seeing specimens, and examining them microscopically.

OAK EGGER MоTH.-A correspondent would be glad of a few eggs of the "Oak Egger Moth," and will forward a stamped envelope to anyone who will kindly oblige him with a few.-S. J. B., 1 Alpha Place, Trafalgar Road, Mosely, Birmingham.

S. M.-The specimen of flowering shrub is Amelanchier glabra from North America.

H. M.-Little white slugs or earthworms.

W. B.-Your plant called "Billy Buttons" is Saxifraga granulata, apparently from your very fragmentary specimens.

S. A. To mount pollen consult "Davies on Mounting," page 47 and 74.

E. W.-We can by no means undertake the naming of diatoms. Moreover, your slide was broken to atoms in the transit.

T. H.-Your moth is Hadena oleracea. The only available book for moths and butterflies is Stainton's Manual, published by Van Voorst, London.

E. H.-We believe it to be entirely fabulous.

M. A. L.-The expression in itself is correct enough, but of its meaning or connection we are profoundly ignorant.

G. R. J.-No. 1. Query not sufficiently clear. 2. By exposure to atmospheric agency, and working out by means of needles and other pointed instruments. 3. Fractured specimens are best kept as they are.-R. T.

J. A.-No such locality known.

J. S. sends us the common polypody, yellow dead nettle, and stitchwort to be named; could he not also have found a daisy and a primrose?

T. R. J.-We have not been able to obtain information about "dredges" in time for the present issue.

H. S.-We cannot undertake such a string of queries; it is our plan to attend to one thing at a time. Surely a little trouble in looking over some elementary work would have enabled you to answer most of the queries for yourself.

W. R. We confess ourselves sceptical of much of the sub-division proposed for the species of "water-ranunculus." M. M.-Go to a heap of rubbish that has lain some time, turn over the broken tiles and brickbats, and underneath them, if you do not find the objects you seek, you will at least secure employment for your microscope till next month. W. W.-Your red sea-weed is the common Plocamium coccineum.

R. S.-We cannot undertake the naming of foreign zoophytes or other objeots of natural history; we find already plenty of employment with the queries or subjects connected with our own country.

EXCHANGES.

CAMPYLODISCUS COSTATUS for other objects.-H. M., jun., 46, Union Grove, Wandsworth-road, Clapham. BIRDS' EGGS AND MINERALS for objects of interest.E. G. D., St. Blazey, Cornwall.

CAMPYLODISCUS SPIRALIS for Coscinodiscus radiatus.B. T., 57, Lowther street, Whitehaven.

Mosses: required fresh specimens of andreæa, Buxbaumia, Splachnum, Neckera, Phascum, or Schistostega, in fruit.C. F. White, St. Anne's Heath, Chertsey.

BRITISH LAND AND FRESHWATER SHELLS for eggs of British birds.-J. H., Ashford, Scarborough.

RARE BRITISH PLANTS.- Address, J. F. R., Stamp Office, Frodsham, Cheshire.

COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED.-E. T. S.-J. W.-S. C.J. A.-R. P.-W. S. J.-M. P.-C. A. J.-W. A. L.-W. B.B. T.-S. J. B.-J. R.-T. B.-G. F. S.-R. J. J.-N.-E. L.S. F. M.-F. W. C.-G. E. F.-W. H. K.-A. M.-E. S. A.R. B.-J. H. F.-W. W. S.-G. R. J.-G. T. P.-T.-F. S.H. R. B.-E. G.-H. U.-W. W.-I. P.-J. W. L.-J. C. G.J. S.-Benardin-J. S.-C. L.-F. K.-E. H.-C. A.-J. F. R. —T. H.-T. P. B.—M. J. P.-W. R. T.-J. B.-M. A. L.W. H.-J. N.-J. S.-W. C.-S. A.-B.-H. M.-E. G. D.— J. J. R.-M. D.-W. B.-C. F. W.-E. W.-J. H. A.-E. G.W.J. B.-R. M.-W. L. S.-T. R. J.-T. W.

LOCAL NAMES.-W. B.

BOOKS RECEIVED.-" The Action of Fungi in the Production of Disease," by Tilbury Fox, M.D. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.

FERNS, BRITISH AND FOREIGN their History, Organography, Classification, and Enumeration, with a treatise on their Cultivation," by John Smith, A.L.S. London: Robert Hardwicke.

HIS fish (Mugil capito) is one of the best I know for a marine aquarium, as it does not hide,

but swims all day in the open water, and besides being very hardy, it is of graceful shape, and of a silvery gleaming hue, prettily marked on the sides with numerous dark parallel bands, running lengthwise. I have about thirty-five or forty of these mullets, each measuring from two to three inches long, in a tank containing 300 gallons of water, and having a surface exposure to the atmosphere of twenty square feet. Through this tank runs a stream of sea-water, varying from 100 to 500 gallons per twenty-four hours, the current being always much increased immediately after feeding, to carry off the turbidity caused by the presence of food. Mr. Gosse, in his book, "The Aquarium," 2nd edition, 1856, pp. 102 -104, describes half a dozen little mullets which he kept at Weymouth in 1853, and says they swam in a shoal in his tank. They do the same here, and sometimes, when quite undisturbed, and not feeding, they form a compact little wedge-shaped phalanx, with their noses all pointed one way, and their bodies precisely parallel with each other, and using their fins only just enough to keep themselves together, and in one spot. At other times the group will be equally compact, but their bodies will be placed at various angles relatively to one another. It is very curious to see them form themselves into a party, and set off on an exploring expedition.

No. 19.

They commence on a certain part of the rockwork, generally on the portion most exposed to light (because, it may be inferred, there are more of minute animals concealed among the more luxuriant vegetable growths on those spots), and then they will regularly work this district for hours together, by most industriously and rapidly picking off from the rocks, and devouring whatever may be upon them. I am not sure what this food is, as a scraping from the rocks submitted to the microscope gives a variety of infusoria and minute alge, and I believe that the mullet eat both of them; at any rate, in a natural state they take both animal and vegetable food. Occasionally the exploring party will form themselves into two groups, one group taking one end of the tank, and the other lot the other end, and then they will eat their way along till the two groups combine. Their extreme earnestness is remarkable, for in their search for food in awkward crannies, they will, in order to get at what they want, place themselves in all manner of queer positions. And all the time their tails are kept wagging with much rapidity, so that their noses may be maintained close up to the rock at which they are nibbling. Occasionally I give them the raw flesh of a newly-killed crab-either the shorecrab (Carcinus manas), or else the edible crab (Cancer pagurus), of both of which they are very fond. When the body of the crab is first thrown into the tank, it usually remains on the sand at the bottom for some minutes unperceived by the mullet, but it is instantly discovered by some of the other animals, who begin to pull it about, and thus the smell is gradually communicated to the mullet, and thereupon one or two of them leave the main body and find out the dead crab. Presently, more arrive, and in a little time the shoal is scattered all over the tank, till after a while they re-unite by dropping in to the feast, one or two at a time, and in a very short period they densely surround the crab, eating

H

it as fast as they can, dragging it asunder, poking their noses into the limbs and into soft parts of the meat, and making quite a cloud with the commotion, till, in a brief space, the shell only remains. Mr. Gosse ascribes much of their hardiness in aquaria to the fact of their keeping much at the surface; and that no doubt is so, as the top of the water is more aërated than at the bottom-in an aquarium, at any rate;-and to this must be added, that their vivacity keeps the water in motion, and stirs air into it, and thus health is given by their own liveliness.

But no stronger proof of the powers of endurance of these fish can be given, than the telling of what our little lot had to go through before I received them. They were caught at Torquay, in Devonshire, and were sent thence to London by rail, and after having been forwarded across London, were despatched by rail to Southend, in Essex. After being kept there awhile, waiting for the steamer, they were re-transported to London and placed on 'board a Hamburg steamship, in which they had a sixty hours' rough voyage, and seven hours' extra detention in the Elbe, before arriving here in our gardens in a cab. And yet the loss from the time of leaving Torquay till their deposit in their final home was only twenty per cent., this being occasioned by their having had to be accommodated in some narrow glass jars, of a quart capacity each, on board the steamer from London Bridge till she got out to sea, when some salt water was dipped up, and the fish were placed in a large vessel.

Another cause of their longevity in confinement is that they so soon make themselves at home, and feed so perpetually. I have had my specimens about a month (it is now January 24th), and during this time they have visibly grown bigger, and they have also in great measure renewed their tails; for it is curious, and I noticed it years ago, that young mullet, on being first placed in aquaria, are apt to lose their tails from some cause unknown to me; but I am sure it is not caused by biting one another, nor by any other creature biting them.

A good account of this fish, by Mr. Yarrell and Mr. Couch, is to be found in Yarrell's "British Fishes," 2nd ed. 1851, vol. i., pp. 234-240; and it is there said that when in confinement it will make successful efforts to jump over the edge of the vessel in which it is kept; but my specimens show no such inclination: they seem quite happy and contented.

It is well known that the grey mullet will thrive in fresh-water. I have never seen it under such circumstances; but some months ago one of about eight inches long was caught in the Baltic, in the Bay of Kiel, and was sent me in some of the water from that place, and containing only 12 per mil. of saline matters. It arrived in perfect health, but upon being placed in North Sea water,

containing 36 or 38 per mil. of salts, it could not preserve its gravity, but rolled about from side to side, and sometimes turned belly topmost, when it came up to the water's surface rapidly, and being there, it gradually righted itself, and then descending with an effort, it vainly endeavoured to accommodate itself to a fluid the specific gravity of which was evidently too great for it. These evolutions were repeated again and again many times, and I, knowing that sometimes such attempts are successful, and having no vessel large enough to contain in it brackish water, to which it had become accustomed, I left it, and returning in three hours, I found it dead. Had the transition from one kind of water to another not been so sudden, it might have been saved, and gradually got to live in water of the full specific gravity. At about the same time I received from Kiel another consignment, containing some marine fish, consisting of Syngnathus (pipe-fish), Zoarces (viviparous blenny), Palemon (prawns), and so forth, and among them were some other fish which by their feel in my hand I thought were marine perch or basse (Perca labrax). It was in the dusk of the evening, and I could not see well, so I placed these roughfeeling fishes in a marine-tank till I got a light, when I saw them all floating belly upwards and gasping, and found that they were only the common perch (Perca fluviatilis). Then I transferred them to a fresh-water tank, where they soon recovered, and where they still are. Here, then, is an instance of a true marine fish living only in brackish water, and not in fully salt sea-water, and of a true fluviatile fish existing in the same brackish water, and continuing to thrive when suddenly placed in fresh-water without any salt in it. I have had no opportunity of trying whether a mullet from the Baltic would, like the perch from the same place, live in perfectly fresh-water.

To return to the shoal of little mullets, however. The other animals with them in the same tank are 2 large spinous spider-crabs (Maia squinado), 3 or 4 other spider-crabs (Hyas araneus), about 25 prawns of two species (Palæmon serratus, and P. squilla), 6 black gobies (Gobius niger), 50 or 60 very small double-spotted gobies (Gobius bipunctatus), about 20 small shannies (Blennius pholis), half a dozen each of the three and ten spined fresh-water sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus, and G. pungitius)——— both of these live perfectly well in either river or sea water without any gradual preparation,-and 10 five-bearded rocklings (Motella quinquecirrata). All of these are predatory in their habits, and, with the exception of the spider-crabs, which are too slow to catch any healthy living fish I am acquainted with-are quick enough in their motions to do mischief to the mullets, which are so peaceable that they very seldom even raise their formidable spiny first dorsal fin, and therefore it becomes an object to protect the mullet (obtained at so much