[51] In the muniment room at Hunstanton Hall there exists a book of MSS. notes relating to their estates, kept by Sir Hamon and Sir Nicholas le Strange, between the years 1612 and 1723. From this book Mr. Hamon le Strange has been good enough to send me an extract containing the full particulars of the stranding and disposal of a Sperm Whale 57 feet long, which came ashore on their Manor of Holme, on the 6th December, 1626, the skull of which is still in the courtyard at Hunstanton Hall.

Browne had not come to reside in Norwich at that time, and the chapter on the Spermaceti Whale in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, was inspired by a subsequent occurrence of the same kind, for, as appears from the above note, a larger individual, 62 feet long, came ashore at Wells 20 years later, which he says led him to further inquiry. This would indicate about the year 1646 as the date of the latter occurrence, whereas in his third letter to Merrett, written in 1668, he states that it happened "about 12 years ago," or in 1656. There is probably an error in one of these dates.

Another example seems to have been found at Yarmouth about the year 1652, for we find Browne writing in that year for particulars of its "cutting up." (See Appendix E.)

In the postscript to a letter also in the muniment room at Hunstanton, dated June 11th, 1653, written to Sir Hamon le Strange, who had been consulting him professionally, Browne says: "I pray you at your leisure doe mee the honor to informe mee how long agoe the Spermaceti Whale was cast upon your shoare & whether you had any spermm with in any other part butt the head." It will be noticed that in both the letters referred to he is anxious to ascertain in what part of the body the "sperm" was situated, doubtless for the purpose of confuting the "vulgar conceit" as to the origin of the "sperm" referred to in the second paragraph of his treatise in the Pseudodoxia. His investigations also probably first led to a certain knowledge as to the nature of the food of this animal.

These, however, although the first to be recorded in this county, were not the first or only occurrences of the kind, for there is in the parish church of Great Yarmouth the base of the skull of a Sperm Whale, used as a chair, for the painting of which a charge of five shillings appears in the churchwardens' accounts for the year 1606; many such events in European waters are to be found recorded.

But the most interesting circumstance with regard to these whales is the statement that "two had yong ones after they were forsaken by the water." This event renders it highly improbable that they were Sperm Whales, for the stragglers of that species which have been met with in our waters, and indeed in the northern seas generally, have been almost invariably solitary males, or, in one or two instances "schools" of young males. In the only instance in which both sexes were found, the school was composed I believe of immature individuals. (Vide J. Anderson, "Nachrichten von Island, Grönland, und der Strasse Davis," Frantfurt (1747), p. 248.) Moreover, this view is confirmed by a letter which will be found in Appendix B., where the following passage occurs:—"And not only whales, but grampusses have been taken in this Estuarie … and about twenty years ago four were run ashore near Hunstanton, and two had young ones after they had come to land." A so-called Grampus which came ashore on the 21st July, 1700, was from a description and drawing in the le Strange MS. above quoted, a male Hyperoodon rostratus, apparently nearly adult.

The Grampus (Orca gladiator) (mentioned in the next paragraph) is frequently met with in the British seas, and has repeatedly occurred on the Norfolk coast. Some early occurrences are on record, for instance in Mackerell's "History of Lynn," twelve are said to have come ashore near that town in 1636, and another in 1680. Two very juvenile examples were taken off Yarmouth in November 1894.

[52] There can be no doubt that the Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is here referred to, and indeed this species might reasonably be expected to be met with on our coast, as its range extends at least as far to the north as the Scandinavian waters, but so far as the writer is aware Browne's is the only record of its having been met with in Norfolk. The White-beaked Dolphin (D. albirostris) is not unfrequent, but it is clear that Browne does not refer to that species.

In the "Vulgar Errors," Browne devotes a whole chapter (chapter ii. of the fifth book) to a learned treatise on the "Picture of Dolphins," and in one of the letters to his son Edward (Sloane MSS., 1847), dated June 14th [1676?], he writes feelingly as an anatomist, evidently fearing that a specimen then available might be wasted, instead of being reserved for scientific purposes; for, says he, "if the dolphin were to be showed for money in Norwich, little would bee got; if they showed it in London they are like to take out the viscera, and salt the fish, and then the dissection will be unconsiderable." He then refers to the dolphin "opened when the King was here," and describes its anatomical peculiarities, adding that Dame Browne cooked the flesh "so as to make an excellent savory dish of it," and that "collars" thereof (steaks cut transversely) being sent to the King, who was then at Newmarket, for his table, they "were well liked of." It is evident therefore that he was present at the dissection of two of these animals.

[53] There is in the present day a considerable number of Common Seals inhabiting the sand-banks of the Wash between the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coasts, and they are frequently captured by the fishermen; nor has the habit of straying into fresh-water deserted them, for in recent years they have been taken in the River Ouse at Bluntisham, forty miles from the sea. Three other species of Seal have been taken on the Norfolk coast, viz., Phoca hispida, P. barbata, and Halichœrus gryphus.

[54] A Scolopendra, ten feet long, is at first rather startling, but on referring to Rondeletius's Libri de piscibus Marinis (lib. xvi. p. 488), I find that under the name "Scolopendra" he includes at least three distinct forms—i., S. terrestris, a centipede; ii., S. marina, certain species of Nereidiform polychaet worms; iii., Scolopendra cetacea, regarded as a Cetacean and figured with a Cetacean blow-hole. With regard to this remarkable figure my friend, Dr. S. F. Harmer, has favoured me with the following note:—"In the account given Rondeletius is evidently writing from report; the figure is also no doubt borrowed, and may have been 'improved' when redrawn; it seems to me that it is based upon some kind of Tunny, although he figures a Tunny earlier in the book (lib. viii. p. 249). The idea of the lateral appendages might have been derived from the dorsal and ventral finlets of a Tunny; but the first four finlets on each side are imaginary structures, and in a wrong position. I can offer no opinion with regard to the nasal appendages." Jonston (De piscibus, p. 156, Tab. xliv.) also gives a similar figure of Scolopendra Cetacea, which appears to be a further modification of Rondeletius's figure; here it has teeth, shown like those of the Sperm Whale, and an extra dorsal-fin is added; the number of lateral appendages is the same, and a column of water proceeding from the blow-hole is falling gracefully forward. It is worthy of notice that Rondeletius also figures the Saw-fish [Pristis] with a blow-hole.

[55] In the "Transactions of the Linnean Society," ii., p. 273, is an essay by Latham "On the various species of Sawfish," but he does not mention any British locality. So far as I am aware Browne's is the only record of the occurrence of this southern species in British waters, with the exception of a note in Fleming's "British Animals," p. 164, where it is stated on the authority of the late Dr. Walker's MS. "Adversaria" for 1769, that Pristis antiquorum is "found sometimes in Loch Long," but Fleming adds that he has met with no other proof of its ever having visited the British shores. Browne mentions in his eighth letter to Merrett that he sends him a "figure in little" of a Pristis which he received of a Yarmouth seaman, and is so precise in his statement that his fish was Pristis serra (the Pristis antiquorum of Cuvier), that his record cannot be disregarded. He specially guards against its being mistaken for the Sword-fish (Xiphias gladius), which has been taken on several occasions in our waters, and of which he gives some interesting particulars.

[56] Various species of Dog-fish are frequent off the Norfolk coast as elsewhere. The name "Sweet William" is applied to the larger fish of this kind, especially to the Tope; this appears also to have been the case in Pennant's time, for alluding to this vernacular name he supposes it was applied in ironical allusion to the offensive smell of their flesh and skin. They are objects of great aversion among the fishermen, owing to the disturbance they create among the shoals of fish, and the damage they do to both nets and the enclosed fish. Scarcely a season passes but one or more specimens of Browne's Canis carcharias, or, as modern Ichthyologists call it, Lamna cornubica, the Porbeagle, being entangled in the drift nets and landed with the herrings. One lies on the fish-wharf at Lowestoft as I write this note on the 19th of October, 1900, measuring 7 feet 10 inches in length. Jonston's figure referred to by Browne is evidently intended for this species, but he makes a slight error in the reference to the Historia Naturalis (De Piscibus et Cetis); it occurs in book v., and the figure is fig. 6 on Tab. vi., and it is marked Canis carcharias alius (not alter).

[57] So great is the variation in the snout of the Sturgeon, that Dr. Parnell in his excellent essay on "The Fishes of the District of the Forth," describes the Sharp-nosed Sturgeon as a distinct species under the name of Acipenser sturio, and the broad-nosed form he calls A. latirostris. His views, however, have not been generally accepted, and only one British species is recognised. The Sharp-nosed variety has been taken here, but the normal form is much more frequent.

[58] This fish (Orthagoriscus mola), which we know as the Sun-fish, has been repeatedly taken here. For an account of its parasites see Cobbold on the "Sun-fish as a host," "Intellectual Observer," ii., p. 82; also Day, "Brit. Fishes," ii., p. 275. According to Dr. Spencer Cobbold the Sun-fish is infested by nine species of Helminths, three of which are mostly found attached to the gills, while a fourth adheres to the surface of the body.

[59] Both this species and the Wolf-fish are well known upon our coast.

[60] Some member of the family Gadidæ is here referred to, probably the five-bearded Rockling, Motella mustela, or Brown Whistle-fish of Pennant, which is occasionally taken by our fishermen, but is by no means common.

[61] This is the Horse Mackerel, or Scad, Caranx trachurus; a handsome fish and common enough, especially off Sheringham, but not much esteemed for the table.

[62] Fish of the Gurnard kind are here referred to. The Rochet of Pennant is the Red Gurnard, Trigla cuculus; he calls T. lyra the Piper. Large numbers of various species of Gurnard are brought in by our trawlers and sell readily, especially the Sapphirine Gurnard, or Tub-fish (T. hirundo), which is known as the "Lachet" on our coast; it reaches a large size, and seems to be much in demand for the table. In spring the colours are very brilliant, and they are frequently seen on the fish stalls with their pectoral fins extended as Browne describes.

[63] The Common Mullet I take to be the Grey Mullet (Mugil capito), which is at times plentiful on our coast, coming into Breydon and the mouths of the rivers, but the Red Mullet (Mullus barbatus) is far less frequently met with. In his third letter to Merrett, Browne says, "There is of them maior and minor," the latter probably being the variety known as the Surmullet, by far the most frequently met with here.

[64] The Saurus of Rondeletius appears to be the Skipper or Saury-pike (Scombresox saurus) of modern authors. Acus major is the Gar-fish or Greenback (Belone vulgaris); this is the Acus primus of Rondeletius, Dr. Harmer has been good enough to send me the following note on Rondeletius's figures:—"De Acus secunda specie" (lib. viii. p. 229). "Two species are figured; the upper figure appears to represent Siphonostoma typhle, and the lower one S. acus. Günther ('Brit. Mus. Cat.,' viii. p. 157) gives a reference to Rondeletius in his synonyms of S. acer without indicating that the latter figures two species. Under S. typhle (p. 154) he gives the synonym Syngnathus rondeletii, De la Roche. A reference to Delaroche ('Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris,' xiii, 1809 p. 324, Pl. xxi. fig. 5) shows that S. rondeletii is identified with the first figure on p. 229 of Rondeletius; and it may thus be concluded that Günther agrees with this conclusion. It seems therefore probable that Browne's Acus of Aristotle refers to S. typhle."

[L] This and the next paragraph on the back of Fol. 26 are in different ink and smaller writing though in the same hand, and appear to have been added subsequently. The first paragraph is omitted by Wilkin.

[65] The Scolopax, or Sea Woodcock, is clearly Centriscus scolopax, a very rare fish in the British seas, and it would have been well had Browne given a more precise account of the origin of his specimen.

[66] Doubtless the Armed Bull-head, or Pogge, Agonus cataphractus. A MS. note in Berkenhout says it was called at Lowestoft a Beetle-head (1769).

[67] Zeus faber, the Dory. Many, usually small ones, are brought in by our fishermen.

[68] Cottus scorpius, Father Lasher, commonly taken by the shrimpers.

[69] Probably from its size the Lesser Weever, Trachinus vipera, as also the Draco minor of Jonstoni. A common fish in our waters. Large numbers of the Greater Weever, T. draco, are brought in by the trawlers.

[70] One of the Gobies. Day, "Brit. Fishes," i., p. 169, supposes the Aphya cobites of Rondeletius (p. 20) to be the White Goby, A. pellucida; Pennant has A. cobites as a synonym for the Spotted Goby (G. minutus) and the Sea Gudgeons, Black Gobies (G. niger), but at that time there was no very nice distinction of the members of this genus. The Sea Miller's Thumb is probably the Shanny (Blennius pholis). Alosa, is the Allis Shad (Culpea alosa, L.), not uncommon (see Note 74).

[71] The Smelt, Osmerus eperlanus, is abundant in the shallow waters and estuaries on the Norfolk coast in spring, ascending the fresh-water rivers to spawn. The small fish called a Primme by Browne, may be the Atherine (Atherina presbyter), which is also found in our waters, where it is often mistaken for the Smelt, but I have not heard it called by the former name.

[72] The first three fishes named in this paragraph need no comment; the Weed-fish is doubtless a local name, but for what species I cannot discover. The Bass, Labrax lupus (Cuv.), is, as might be expected from the nature of our coast, by no means common here.

[73] The latter part of this paragraph, beginning, "Sometimes they are of a very large size," is written on the left-hand side of the opening, and is evidently a subsequent addition. One would be inclined to think from the great size of the fish here recorded (3 ft. 9 in.), that it may have been a species of Tunny, or even a Bonito, both of which have been taken on the Norfolk coast. Seventeen inches is a large mackerel.

[74] It is quite evident that the fish referred to here, and again in the sixth letter to Merrett, is not the true Bleak (Alburnus lucideus) of our freshwaters. It seems that the young of some species of Clupeoid was thus known, for I find it stated in a MS. note in a copy of Berkenhout's "Outlines of the Natural History of Great Britain," (1769), in the possession of Mr. T. E. Gunn, that the Bleak and the Sprat are often caught together in the sea at Aldeburgh (Suffolk) in November, and the writer of the note adds, "the Bleak is larger than the Sprat, its eyes are larger, and the upper part of its belly serrated." I think from this description and from Browne's remarks, that the young of a species of Shad must have been mistaken for the Bleak, which although found low down in our rivers almost to where the salt tide mingles with the fresh, does not I believe enter the salt water.

[75] The smallest of the genus Gasterosteus, or Stanstickles, is G. pungitius, the ten-spined Stickleback, but this fish is two inches long when full grown. All the species seem to be more or less indifferent to the salinity of the water. The fifteen-spined Stickleback, G. spinachia, is also sometimes taken by the shrimpers, and is the most truly marine species, but is by no means "the smallest fish of the sea."

[M] This word which Wilkin renders "fragments," is doubtless from the Latin pergamentum, and it seems likely that Browne had in view certain sea-weeds, possibly Laminaria or Ulva which, especially when dry, present somewhat the appearance and texture of parchment.

[76] Pastinaca oxyrinchus appears to be the Sting Ray (Trygon pastinaca); Raia clavata, the Thornback; R. oculata, the Spotted Ray (R. maculata); R. aspera; the Shagreen Ray? (R. fullonica).

[77] The Brill, Rhombus lævis (Lin.), Passer asper squamosus, Rondl., formerly known as the Brett, Bretcock, Skull, or Pearl.

[78] Solea vulgaris, the Common Sole. The "Lingula, or small Sole," is probably the Solea variegata, Flem., the S. parva sive Lingula of Rond. Jonston figures "Solea lingulata," Tab. xx., fig. 12, but I am uncertain what species is intended. It is possible that Browne may have Latinised the trade name by which small Soles are known in the market as "slips" and "tongues." What other species he may have wished to indicate as "plana" and "oculata" it is difficult to determine.

[79] The "asprage" (or it may be "a sprage") may possibly be the Dab, Pleuranectes limanda, which Rondeletius calls Passer asper. I do not find that species mentioned otherwise, and a great many are taken by the Cromer and Sheringham fishermen.

[80] Of the various species of the Cephalopoda, Sepia officinalis, is more often represented by its calcareous dorsal plate than by the entire animal, for large numbers of these "cuttle-bones" are sometimes strewed along the shore for miles. The Squid, Loligo vulgaris, is often met with, sometimes of considerable size. The horny "pen" resembles a short leaf-shaped Roman sword, and Browne's term, "Gladiolus," is quite as appropriate as that of "Calamus." His Polypus is probably Octopus vulgaris, but it is rarely met with on the Norfolk coast.

[N] By mollia is meant all soft-bodied shell-less animals.

[81] Probably Nephrops norvegicus, the Norway Lobster, called at Lowestoft a Crayfish or Prawn. They are sometimes brought in in large numbers by the steam trawlers, but the precise locality in which they are captured I am unable to say; the fishermen say the "North Sea," which is rather a vague address, but others say between the Texel and Heligoland.

[82] Carsinus mænas, the Shore-crab, a very common species on the Norfolk coast is here intended.