British, Salt Water Fishes. By F. G. Aflalo. (Hutchinson and
Co. 12s. 6d. net.)—This is a volume (the fifth, as we gather from the advertisement) of the " Woburn Library of Natural History," appearing under the general editorship of the Duke of Bedford. It is of handsome appearance, illustrated by coloured pictures of typical specimens. (We may mention as excellent examples the red gurnard, the striped wrasse, and the turbot; all are good, but some, like the mackerel, defy the art of the colourist.) The first chapter gives a general account of sea fishes, which may be broadly divided into two groups,—the Sela,chii (cartilaginous), of which the ray is the most familiar type ; and the Teleatomi (bony), from which come nearly all the fishes that are useful for food. Each kind is dealt with in a few sentences, which describe its structure, appearance, habits, and other characteristics. In
this chapter, which gives a great amount of information in a very small compass, the question of reproduction is treated. This natur- ally leads on to the subject of "Our Fisheries : their Practice and their Control." This subject is comparatively new, and abounds with complications and difficulties. Less than a hundred years ago (1837) Morrell was able with truth to speak of our fish food supply as" obtained from the seas all round the coast by moderate labour and expense." The case is very different now. A well- equipped fishery is a costly affair, and even with the best appliances the result is often inadequate. Mr. Aflalo is not disposed to take a despondent view of the fishing industry ; ho has a good word to say for the trawlers. Possibly, if we take the widest view of the whole question, he may be right. But the local fisherman, professional or amateur, who finds his fishing grounds swept absolutely bare, except where they may be pro- tected by a rocky bottom, will probably enter a protest. (Let any one who remembers Whitby fishing forty years ago, and knows what it is now, say what he thinks.) After this we come to the detailed description of the different kinds, chap. iii. giving us "The Sharks and Rays" (among them the interesting "torpedo," and " sting ray "), chaps. iv.-xiii. the various fishes well known in our markets. A chapter is devoted to species sometimes occur- ring in our seas; and another, from the pen of Mr. R. B. Marston, is " The Cultivation of Sea Fish."
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