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NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
ZOOLOGY.
Otters in the Essex Salt-marshes.—In the local journals of Oct. 1st,
1901, a paragraph concerning the capture of an otter was headed with the
sensational line "Sea Otter in the Blackwater." "In the river Blackwater on
Friday, not far from where the shark was recently captured, a Mersea fisher-
man named Reuben Mussett shot a sea otter, a creature never known to have
been brought ashore before in the neighbourhood. It is a capital specimen,
turning the scale at 27lbs." We allude to this mainly as an excuse for insert-
ing an extract from a letter pf Dr. Laver's written at the time :—"The 'sea
otter' was a very fine specimen, 4ft. tin. long, a male, and was shot on the
ooze or saltings at Tollesbury. The skin has been preserved by Pettitt for
Mr. Stuart-Wortley, of Orleans Cottage, West Mersea. It had been no doubt
living on Tollesbury Marshes and in the habit of making excursions into the
tide-way. I dare say you are aware that there are now otters on nearly all
the marshes round the coast. This is as it was in the early years of 1800,
when the otter was a very common beast. I am glad to say that there is a
prospect of this interesting animal again being much more abundant than it
was some years ago."
Capture of a Porbeagle Shark (Lamna cornubica) near Tollesbury.
In the Essex Herald for October 1st, 1901, the capture of a shark was reported
as follows :—'On Tuesday afternoon, when the Tollesbury fishermen were
returning home, a shark was seen swimming near the Naas End. Several
attempts were made to capture it, and William Lewis, jun., accompanied by
William Lewis, sen., and Garrod, succeeded in getting a noose over his head
and fixing it in his gills. He was towed for some distance to the landing
stage at the 'Leavings,' frequently turning on his back ready for battle.
When dragged upon the mud the shark went through many frantic evolutions,
but was at length killed. There is an abundant supply of fish in the Black-
water just now, and the shark is supposed to have followed them. The fish
was 6ft. 10in. in length, and was on exhibition at Tollesbury on Tuesday
evening. On Wednesday his captors tried their fortune as showmen by taking
the shark to Maldon for exhibition." Dr. Laver wrote to us respecting this
fish:—" The shark you mentioned is now at Ambroses, the Bird-Stuffer's. I
have seen it to-day ; it is 7ft. 3m. long, and it is an example of the Porbeagle
Shark (Lamna cornubica) as you suggested."
Pomatias elegans in a living state near Wormingford.—Dr. H
Laver has kindly forwarded to us a letter recently received from Mr. George
T. Rope in which the writer says :—" I have not your list of the Mollusca of
the Colchester district by me just now, but as far as I can recollect Cyclostoma
(Pomatias) elegans is not included. Having met with this species last autumn
at or near Wormingford, I thought it might possibly interest you to know of
it. On the 8th of last September (1901) I came upon several 'dead shells' at
a spot which I have no doubt you know, about two miles or so from Bures.
And with them was a single specimen of Helix (Helicella) ericetorum and