OCCURRING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF FELSTEAD, ESSEX. 3
H. virgata, Da Costa. Hedgerows; common.
H. caperata, Mont. Frequent generally, and common on Moor's
farm.
H. ericetorum, Mull. Near Snow's lane and Old Workhouse;
very local and not common.
H. rotundata, Mull. Common in wet meadows.
H. pygmaea, Drap. Barfield ; not common.
H. pulchella, Mull. Common in wet meadows.
H. lapicida, L. Hedgerows; frequent.
Pupa umbilicata, Drap. Causeway End; not common.
Bulimus obscurus, Mull. Hedgerows; frequent.
Vertigo pusilla, Mull. Barfield; rare.
Clausilia rugosa, Drap. Hedgerows; frequent.
C. laminata, Mont. Hedgerows; rare.
Cochlicopa tridens, Pult. Near Leigh's Priory; not common.
C. lubrica, Mull. Frequent in wet meadows.
Achatina acicula, Mull. Near Leigh's Priory; rare.
Carychium minimum, Mull. Barfield; not common.
Cyclostoma elegans, Mull. Bushy Leys field; fossil only, in
upland alluvium.
Seals in the Blackwater and Roach Rivers.—Two seals have been seen
on several occasions in the Blackwater during the summer and autumn. I was on
board on one of the hottest days of July when one showed itself, but I cannot say
I saw it; they have been frequently shot at, and two or three times they have
both been seen basking or playing together on the mud. Although showing
themselves very close to pleasure vessels, and then not appearing to be at all shy,
I have not heard that either has been caught; they are too wary for some of our fisher-
men. They seemed to frequent mostly the river between Stansgate Guard-ship
and St. Lawrence Stone. On January 19th, 1881, the day after the fearful storm,
when the river was so full of ice and snow that it well represented the Arctic
abodes of the seal, two were shot by our fishermen. One was not recovered, and
the other was sold to one of the coastguardsmen for five shillings, who, it is
reported, made five pounds of its skin, It is said to have been a "tiger seal"
and a fine fellow, but I cannot learn any further particulars of its species ; it may
probably have been a ringed or marbled seal (Pagomys foetidus), which has occurred
on the Norfolk coast, or a hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), which occurred in
the Orwell in 1847.—Writing from The Chase, Paglesham, Mr. James F. T.
Wiseman says, in the "Essex Weekly News" of October 2lst, 1887 :—A rare
visitant—a fine specimen of the seal, Phoca vitulina—was shot here by Mr. J. G.
D. Wiseman on the 17th inst. It measured four feet in length, and weighed fifty-
four pounds. It is nearly forty years since one has been shot in this river, the
Roach." In a letter to me under date October 26th, 1887, Mr. Wiseman writes :—
"I am afraid I can give you no further information respecting the seal than what
I forwarded to the paper. I am certain that it was the Phoca vitulina. My son
watched it catch four dabs, all cross ways, before he shot it; it seemed to take no
notice of our boats, and was seen on the Saturday equally tame."—Edward A.
Fitch, Maldon.