144 NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
brace of jack were taken, The weight of these is not given, but they would
probably be of about the same average as the 941/2 brace killed in 186-7—total
weight, 4o61bs.
" On July 25th, 1861, there is an entry showing that Mr. T. Howse and
his sons caught twenty-two brace of perch, four brace of ack, and two dozen
gudgeon, in the lower water of the fishery. That must have been a red letter
day indeed ! The gudgeon have almost entirely disappeared from that part
of the Lea (and many another part also), and there is no longer such perch
fishing as was enjoyed during the years previous to 1861. Here are entries
showing that Mr. T. Howse and son caught nineteen brace of perch, and Mr.
Munt and Mr. McRae sixty-one and a half brace; Mr. Robert Wright (one of
the old brotherhood who have gone to their rest) and Mr. Charles Briand (who
is still an active member of several angling societies) are also entered as
captors of a big bag of perch in 1860. There are frequent entries, indeed,
showing very excellent perch fishing; Mr. Henry Wix, for example, had, in
1859, twenty perch weighing 161bs., and seven chub weighing 9lbs., in Amwell
Pond; and there are records, one after another, of sixty brace and forty-two
brace of perch, eighteen dozen gudgeon, and so on. These, alas, are feats of
the past. The common weight of the big trout appears to be 61b., especially
those caught at Ware Mill. The carp is mentioned once, the rudd only twice,
and the only record of the tench is that of one of 2lbs. 6oz. in March, 1861,
with the note 'the first tench ever known to be taken at the fishery.' "
INSECTA.
Sirex gigas at Loughton.—Our Treasurer, Mr. W. C. Waller, sent up
for the Museum a fine female specimen of Sirex gigas which has been caught
in his garden at Loughton on July 9th, 1899 (see note in last volume (vol. x.)
at page 189).
Acidalia rusticata at Shoeburyness, Essex.—I have taken a few
specimens of Acidalia rusticata this season at Shoeburyness. Is there any early
record of the occurrence of this species in Essex ? But for my having seen two
examples in a small collection formed by a beginner it's more than likely that
I should not have captured this insect, as the spot where it occurs is on
Government ground from which the public is excluded. The moth seems to
be exceedingly local, and it is, therefore, a matter for congratulation that it
is so effectually protected.—F. G. Whittle, Southend, August, 1899.
Calymnia pyralina and Cucullia asteris near Southend.—At the end
of May, a friend was kind enough to allow me to accompany him to a locality
some few miles north-west of Southend (I cannot be more precise), where
larvae of Thecla w-album and Calymnia pyralina might be expected to occur
We did not see T. w-album, but sundry Calymnia larvae were beaten from
which I reared, about the middle of July, three C. affinis and three C. pyralina.
I found yesterday a larvae of Cucullia asteris on a plant of Aster tripolium at
Great Wakering.—F. G. Whittle, Southend, September 18th, 1899.
Glow-worm and Frog.—On the evening of September 2nd as my
brother and I were passing along the Epping New Road, near "Kates
Cellar," Broom Hill, we saw a glow-worm's tiny lamp shining on a bank by
the wayside. As we got off our cycles for a nearer view, the spark suddenly
disappeared, and on turning the light of a lantern on to the spot we were just