NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 227
Salmon in the Lea River.—In the "Anecdotal Reminiscences of an Octo-
nono-genarian," by the well-known antiquary, Sir G. F. Duckett, Bart., published
last year, he records that, when a boy (probably circa 1820), living at his father's
house at Theobalds, he caught "a spent salmon in the Waltham Abbey waters. . . .
I was trolling with snap-tackle on one occasion in company with the officer of
Engineers then in command of the powder mills, at a part called 'Newton's Pool.'
I hooked a good fish, but had little idea of its being other than a pike. At length,
however, it was brought to land, and turned out to be what I have said—a spent
salmon. It must have been there a long time, and had lost all the attributes of a
salmon ; in fact, looked like a long, thick eel, or something resembling the sea
fish ling, but less thick. ... it measured two feet eight inches. The marvellous
part of the matter is, how could such a fish ever have got up the Lea from the
Thames ? There are endless locks to pass on this navigable river—I cannot say
how many—but there the salmon had got, and few naturalists could exactly deter-
mine what length of time it would take for a salmon to acquire that peculiar
figure—long and lanky, as I have said it was. ... If in good condition, a fish of
that length would have weighed at least thirty pounds." We are indebted to the
kindness of Mr. Miller Christy for this extract, which is interesting in connection
with Mr. Harting's notes on the former existence of salmon in the Lea in the last
volume of The Essex Naturalist (vol. viii., pp. 197, 198). It may also be
noted, as an additional reference, that in Chauncy's "History of Hertfordshire"
(1700), the author says that in the Lea there were "some salmons. . . . and if
these Fish had free Passage by the Mills, and thro' the Sluces at Waltham up the
Stream towards Ware and Hertford, where they might spawn in fresh Water, and
were carefully preserved from Poachers, they would greatly increase in that River,
and be of great benefit, as well to the City of London as the Country ; for some
water-men have observed, that they delight in this stream and play much about
those Sluces near Waltham." Lieut. Croft, F.L.S., observed in his notes
on "Izaak Walton and the River Lea" ("Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc.,''
vol. ii., p. 14), that "in anticipation of a good time coming, the Lee Conservancy
forbid the capture of any salmon of less than four pounds' weight" !—Ed.
Acanthocinus aedilis, Linn., at Plaistow.—Mr. W. J. Clark, of 179,
Harold Road, Upton Park, E., writes on October 17th : "The enclosed specimen
of a Longicorn Beetle (A. aedilis) was found in a timber-yard at Plaistow a few
days ago. According to the Rev. J. G. Wood, 'the insect is rare in England, but
is comparatively common in several parts of Scotland, where it goes by the name
of the "Timberman," on account of its habit of gnawing wood.' I send the
beetle to you, as you may like it for the Museum at Chingford. Of course, it may
have been imported, but it was certainly captured in the county."
Acherontea atropos and Sphinx ligustri at East Mersea.—A chrysalis
of A. atropos was brought to me at East Mersea on August 15th, found while
digging up potatoes. Specimens occurred a few years ago, but the insect is not
often seen on the island. The "Death's Head Moth" appears to have been
much commoner than usual in several parts of England this season. I may
mention that Sphinx ligustri also occurred on the island.—B. G. Cole, Buckhurst
Hill.
Abundance of Arctia Villica on the Essex Coast.—While strolling
along the long stretch of sandy shore between Brightlingsea and Colne Point with
Mr. G. E. Vaughan on Easter Monday last (April 6th) we observed the larvae
of the "Cream-spotted Tiger Moth" literally in hundreds. Some were feeding