Notes and Letters on the Natural History of Norfolk Part 7

[90] Mr. E. T. Browne, of the Zoological Laboratory of University College, London, has kindly furnished me with the following notes on this subject: "Jonston (1657) gives figures of Anemones and large _Medusae_ under the name of _Urtica_. On Tab. xviii. he figures Anemones and other beasts, but not _medusae_. The _medusae_ are on the next Tab. (xix.). _Urtica marina_ includes both Anemones and certain Scyphomedusae (not _Pulmo_). Under 'some ... called Squalders of a burning and stinging quality,' I think Browne must refer to our common stinging Scyphomedusae belonging to the genus _Chrysaora_ or _Cyanaea_, of which there are three species.

"The vague description of what he calls 'sea b.u.t.tons' [see below, also second letter to Merrett] would suit either a Medusa or a Ctenoph.o.r.e. The additional note, 'two small holes in the ends,'

rather upsets matters, but I think he must refer to some sort of jelly-fish, probably damaged, which is usually the case when cast up on the sh.o.r.e. If the b.u.t.tons worn in those days were like filbert-nuts or eggs, I am inclined to think that the reference must be to a Ctenoph.o.r.e, genus _Pleurobrachia_, but if flat, then to one of the _Hydromedusae_. It would be safe to say, 'probably a kind of jelly-fish,' which is about as vague as the reference." See also Dr. Reuben Robinson's description of "Squalders" in a letter to Browne (Wilkin i., pp. 422-424). It seems probable that the gelatinous ma.s.ses referred to in the early part of this letter, which Dr. Robinson says were ascribed by Dr. Charleton to "the nocturnall pollution of some plethorick or wanton starr: or rather excrement blowne from the nosthrills of a rheumatick planett," were the remains of the undeveloped sp.a.w.n of frogs, the bodies of which had been eaten by rats, crows, or herons, and which had become swollen by exposure to moisture.

[The next paragraph on folio 33 _verso_ is evidently added subsequently.]

Another elegant sort that is often found cast up by sh.o.a.re in great numbers about ye bignesse of a b.u.t.ton cleere & welted & may bee called fibula marina crystallina.

hirudines marini or sea Leaches.[91]

[91] It is difficult to determine the species of marine Annelids referred to by Browne; the Sea Leech is probably _Pontobdella laevis_. The "large wormes" digged for bait, mentioned more than once, are Lug-worms, _Arenicola piscatorum_; the _Vermes in tubulis testacei_ may be tube-worms of the genus Terrebella, or a species of Serpula. Tethya or "Sea dugge" (not "Sea dogs," as Wilkin has it) might very well apply to _Ascidia_ or one of the allied genera.

Simple Ascidians, generally known as Sea-squirts, are common littoral forms; the animals figured by Rondeletius under the heading "De Tethyis" (p. 127) are simple Ascidians. The _vesicaria marina_, or "fanago," might well refer to the egg capsules of the common Whelk (_Buccinum undatum_), which are very commonly found in ma.s.ses on the sh.o.r.e. In his sixth letter to Merrett, Browne mentions two kinds of "fanago," the first which I take to be the egg capsules of the Whelk, resembling the "husk of peas;" the smaller that of "barley when the flower [awn?] is mouldered away,"

may possibly be the egg capsules of _Purpura lapillus_, or of some species of Natica, which bear a fanciful resemblance to grains of barley. See also Merrett's second letter in Appendix A., in which he describes the Vesicaria found on oyster-sh.e.l.ls as resembling flowers of _Hyacinthus botryoides_, which is not a bad description of the form of the egg capsules of _P. lapillus_.

vermes marini very large wormes digged a yarde deepe out of the sands at the ebbe for bayt. tis known where they are to bee found by a litle flat ouer them on ye surface of ye sand. as also vermes in tubulis testacei. Also Tethya or sea dugges some whereof resemble fritters [and _crossed out_] the vesicaria marina also & [_see Note 91_] fanago sometimes very large conceaued to proceed from some testaceous animals.

& particularly [_Fol. 35_] from the purpura b.u.t.t [in _crossed out_] ours more probably from other testaceous wee hauing not met with any large purpura upon this coast.

[A blank s.p.a.ce.]

Many riuer fishes also and animals. Salmon[92] no co[=m]on fish in our riuers though many are taken in the owse. in the Bure or north riuer, in ye waueney or south riuer, in ye [yare or _crossed out_] norwich riuer b.u.t.t seldome and in the winter b.u.t.t 4 yeares ago 15 were taken at Trowes mill [ab _crossed out_] in Xtmas. whose mouths were stuck with small wormes or horsleaches no bigger than fine threads some of these I kept in water 3 moneths if a few drops of blood were putt to the water they would in a litle time looke red. they sensibly grewe bigger then I first found them and were killed by an hard froast freezing the water.

most of our Salmons haue a recurued peece of flesh in ye end of the lower iawe wch when they shutt there mouths deepely enters the upper. as Scaliger hath noted in some.

[92] The Salmon (_Salmo salar_) is at the present day very rarely found in our rivers, and those met with are, as a rule, male Kelts which have strayed into unsuspected situations after floods; a singular exception occurred on the 20th May, 1897, when one weighing 6 lbs. was taken on a fly in the river above Stoke Holy Cross Mill; this fish is preserved in the Norwich Museum. Another curious capture of which I heard (but did not see the fish) occurred on the 1st August, 1898, when a salmon, also of 6 lbs.

weight, jumped into a small boat towed behind a yacht which was sailing across Breydon Water. That the salmon was at one time a recognised visitor to our rivers is evident from the following extract from the Norwich Court of Mayoralty Book under date 2 Novr.

1667: "It is ordered that the bell man give notice that if any person shall take any Salmons from the Nativity of our Lady unto St. Martin's day, or destroy any young Salmons by netts or other ingens from the midst of April until the Nativity of St. John Baptist shall be punished according to the law." The Salmon is the host of several parasites both internal and external. Fresh run Salmon are generally infested with a "Sea-louse," which quickly perishes in freshwater; not so, however, with the troublesome worm-like creature, the subject of Browne's experiments; it is known as _Lernaea salmonis_, and is only found on the gill-covers of spent Kelts; it is not got rid of till the fish returns to the salt water. Browne may be excused being rather sceptical as to the ident.i.ty of the clean run Salmon and the spent Kelt, for no greater contrast can be imagined than that which exists between the two--the male in the "redding" season develops the unsightly hooked mandible, which so puzzled the worthy doctor, and both in colour and form is as hideous an object as can be imagined. Becard Gallorum (not _Beccard gallorus_), _i.e._, the fish called "Becard"

by the French (see second letter to Merrett), refers to the use of a name still applied in France to a large c.o.c.k Salmon, and "Anchorago" is the name under which the fish was described by Scaliger, whose book I have not seen. Dr. Gunther tells me that Artedi, "Ichthyologia," Pt. v., p. 23, quotes this name as a synonym of the Salmon.

The Riuers lakes & broads[93] abound in [the Lucius or _added above_]

pikes of very large size where also is found the Brama or [breme _crossed out_] Breme large & well tasted the Tinca or Tench the Rubecula Roach as also Rowds and Dare or Dace perca or pearch great & small.

whereof such [as] are are in Braden on this side yarmouth in the mixed water [are gen _crossed out_] make a dish very dayntie & I think scarce to bee bettered in England. b.u.t.t the Blea[k] [_Fol. 36_] the chubbe the barbell [I haue not obserued in these riuers _crossed out_] to bee found in diues other Riuers in England I haue not obserued in these. As also fewer mennowes then in many other riuers.

[93] The freshwater fishes named in the next three paragraphs are so well known as to require few remarks. The Bream in our rivers and broads are very numerous and reach a large size, but of their esculent qualities I have had no personal experience; not so, however, with the Perch, which quite deserve Browne's high encomium. It is well known here that this fish shows no aversion of a certain admixture of salt and fresh water, and Mr. Lubbock ("Fauna of Norfolk") says, "the point in Norfolk rivers where the largest are taken with most certainty is where water begins to turn brackish from the influence of the ocean;" in autumn the very finest are taken by angling with a shrimp, a favourite bait in the lower parts of the Yare and Waveney. In such localities a small shrimp (_Hippolyte varians_, Leach) abounds, and it is to this favourite food that Mr. Lubbock attributes the excellence of these Perch. Roud is the local name of the Rudd (_Leuciscus erythropthalmus_). The River Nar is still perhaps the best Trout stream in the county, and the Crawfish is found in most of the rivers but not abundantly.

The Trutta or trout the Gammarus or crawfish [no _crossed out_] b.u.t.t scarce in our riuers b.u.t.t frequently taken in the Bure or north riuer & in the seuerall branches therof. & very remarkable large crawfishes to bee found in the riuer wch runnes by castleaker & nerford.

The Aspredo perca minor[94] and probably the cernua of Cardan co[=m]only called a Ruffe in great plentie in norwich Riuers & euen in ye streame of the citty. which though camden appropriates vnto this citty yet they are also found in the riuers of oxforde [&] Cambridge.

[94] Merrett calls the Ruff _Cernua fluviatilis_, and mentions its abundance in the River Yare at Norwich, which he (no doubt inadvertently) a.s.signs to the County of "Ess.e.x"; from this locality Caius obtained the specimen, a drawing of which he sent to Gesner under the name of _Aspredo_. Camden a.s.signs this fish also to Norwich, and Spencer, in his "Marriage of the Thames and Medway,"

writes of the Ruff:--

"Next cometh Yar, soft was.h.i.+ng Norwich walls, And with him bringeth to their festival Fish whose like none else can show, The which men Ruffins call."

This county seems to have been a.s.signed an exclusive proprietors.h.i.+p in the Ruff, to which, as Browne rightly points out, it had no just claim.

Lampetra Lampries great & small[95] found plentifully in norwich riuer & euen in the Citty about may [some _crossed out_] whereof some are very large & well cooked are counted a dayntie bitt collard up b.u.t.t especially in pyes.

[95] Both the Sea Lamprey (_Petromyzon marinus_) and the Lampern (_P. fluviatilis_) are found in the Norfolk rivers.

Mustela fluuiatilis or eele poult[96] to bee had in norwich riuer & [in thalso _crossed out_] between it & yarmouth as also in the riuers of marshland resembling an eele & a cod. a very good dish & the Liuer thereof well answers the commendations of the Ancients.

[96] The Burbot, or Eel Pout (_Lola vulgaris_), called by Merrett a Coney-fish, from its habit of concealing itself in holes in the river banks. It is not sufficiently numerous now to form an article of diet, and I imagine there are few living who could bear testimony as to the esculent qualities of its "Liuer."

[_Fol 37._] G.o.dgions or funduli fluuiatiles, many whereof may bee taken within the [citty _crossed out_] Riuer in the citty:

Capitones fluuiatilis or millers thumbs, pungitius fluuiatilis or stanticles. Aphia cobites fluuiatilis or Loches. in norwich riuers in the runnes about Heueningham heath in the north riuer & streames thereof.

Of eeles[97] the co[=m]on eele & the glot wch hath somewhat a different shape in the bignesse of the head & is affirmed to have yong ones often found within it. & wee haue found a vterus in the same somewhat answering the icon thereof in Senesinus.

[97] The coa.r.s.e variety of the Eel, known as the "Glout," or Broad-nosed Eel, is believed to be the barren female; Browne's informants were doubtless misled by the presence of certain thread-worms (_Nematoxys_) in the abdomen of the eels, which they mistook for young ones.

Carpiones carpes plentifull in ponds & sometimes large ones in broads [_smear_] 2 the largest I euer beheld were [found _crossed out_] taken [_added above_] in Norwich Riuer.

[A whole line is smeared out, and a break occurs in the MS. after the observation on the Carp; it then proceeds to notice some other inhabitants of the county which perhaps Browne had difficulty in cla.s.sifying.]

Though the woods and dryelands about [abound?] with adders and vipers[98] yet are there few snakes about our riuers or meadowes more to bee found in Marsh land b.u.t.t ponds & plashes abound in Lizards or swifts.

[98] Both Vipers (or Adders) and Snakes, the latter in particular, are, I imagine, much less abundant than formerly, but the few species of Lizards and Newts (Swifts) are still probably in undiminished numbers; the Mole Cricket (_Gryllotalpa vulgaris_) is rare with us; Horse-leeches (_Aulostoma gulo_) are frequent, and also "Periwinkles," which I take to be various species of freshwater Molluscs, possibly of _Limnaea_. The Hard-worm (or Hair-worm), _Gordius aquaticus_, which refused to be generated from "horsehayres," is still an object of wonder to the unlearned, and the Great Black Water-Beetle (_Hydrophilus piceus_) is found; but _forficula_ and _corculum_ were a puzzle, as it is evident from their a.s.sociation they must be aquatic forms (and the Earwig certainly does not take to the water voluntarily), till my friend, Mr. C. G. Barrett, referred me to the following pa.s.sage in Swammerdam's "Book of Nature," p. 93: "This is most certain that the _Forficula aquatica_ of Jonston is the true nymph of the Mordella, or Dragon-fly,"[O] Dr. Charleton in his "Onomasticon," p.

57, has "Corculus, the Water-beetle, resembling an heart;" not very definite, but probably the Whirligig Beetle, _Gyrinus natator_, is intended; it is also an appellation given by some authors to "a small species of cordiformis, or heart-sh.e.l.l, of a rose colour,"

doubtless a Cyclas or a Pisidium. Squilla is the Freshwater Shrimp (_Gammarus pulex_), and _Notonecta glauca_, the Waterboatman "which swimmeth on its back," is well known.

Otters are still numerous in the broads and reed-margined rivers, and so long as these natural fastnesses endure in their present condition they are likely to continue so.

[O] On reference to Jonston (_Historiae Naturalis de Insectis_ Lib.

iv., "De Insectis aquaticis" i., p. 189, Tab. xxvii.), I find that under the name of "_Forficulae aquat[icae]_. M [oufet]," he has two figures, the first of which is possibly a Dytiscus larva, the second that of some form of Dragon-fly, which however is imperfect.

The Gryllotalpa or fencricket co[=m]on in fenny places b.u.t.t wee haue met with them also in dry places dung-hills & church yards of this citty.

Beside horseleaches & periwinkles in plashes & standing waters we haue met with vermes setacei or hardwormes b.u.t.t could neuer conuert horsehayres into them by laying them in water as also the [_Fol. 38_]

the (_bis_) great Hydrocantharus or black s.h.i.+ning water Beetle the forficula, sqilla, corculum and notonecton that swimmeth on its back.

Camden [_smear_] reports that in former time there haue been [otters _crossed out_] Beuers in the Riuer of Cardigan in wales. this wee are to sure of that the Riuers great Broads & carres afford great store of otters with us, a [des _crossed out_] great destroyer of fish as feeding b.u.t.t from ye vent downewards. [a prey _crossed out_] not free from being a prey it self for their yong ones haue been found in Buzzards nests.

they are accounted no bad dish by many are to bee made very tame and in some howses haue [semed _crossed out_] serued for turnespitts.

[Blank s.p.a.ce.]

NOTE.--Although Browne's account of the Fishes is doubtless derived from his personal observation, I have found it very difficult in some families, such as the Cods, Rays, Gurnards, Flat-fishes, and Gobies to identify them with the species as at present known; in fact, they were at that time very imperfectly differentiated, and the figures in the old authors are generally so inexact as not to be recognisable. Ray, in 1674 ("English Words not generally known," p. 101), thus writes of the sea fishes, "several of them, we judge, not yet described by any Author extant in print: indeed the writers of Natural History of Animals living far from the Ocean, and so having never had opportunity of seeing these kind of fishes ... write very confusedly and obscurely concerning them," a remark which I have found abundantly verified.

LETTERS TO MERRETT.

[MS. SLOANE. 1833. FOL. 14.]

No. 1.

"_My father to Dr. Meret July 13, 1668._"