A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE also the ground that suits a number of small flat fishes, and the unthinking trawl catches indiscriminately the edible shrimps, the useless solenettes {Solea luted), and the young soles {Solea vulgaris) in their unprofitable stage. Professor Herdman has suggested that the clearing off of solenettes by the shrimp-trawlers may be indirectly beneficial to the young soles, which will thereby have fewer enemies and less competition in pursuit of food.' But in 1895 he writes, 'The statistics of hauls taken during the past year from the steamer show once more, if any showing is still needed, that that destructive engine the shrimp-trawl brings up along with a miserably small number of shrimps, an astonishingly large number of young food fishes. On 2 November, off the Ribble estuary, with 5 quarts of shrimps were taken over 5,000 undersized food fishes. On the same date, off Blackpool, with ij quarts of shrimps were 10,000 fish ; on 24 October, in Heysham Lake, with 2 quarts of shrimps were 4,000 plaice about 4 inches long ; and so on. Of course it is satisfactory to know that there are so many young fish on the ground, but it is deplorable that for the sake of a quart or two of shrimps several thousands of young fish should run some risk of being sacrificed." As a remedy it has been proposed that the net should not be attached to the frame, which stirs up the mud, but to a bar raised just so far above the frame, that the flat fishes may glide away beneath the net while the more excitable shrimps leap into it. To the plan of restoring the young fishes to the sea it is objected that only very few of them would be likely to survive the rough handling they meet with in the process. It is difficult to say whether even so they may not as provender for other animals by transmigration of bodies ultimately become serviceable to man. This is no more than a pious hope. It should not make the fishing industry deaf to that wisdom of the ancients which pronounces that wilful waste makes woful want. In the family Pandalidas the species Fandalus montagui (Leach), often less correctly spoken of as P. annulicornis, is probably the prawn on which Dr. Leigh bestows so high a gastronomic commendation. Byerley says of it, ' This species, which is the plentiful edible prawn (or locally ' sprawn ') of our district, has often been mistaken for the young condition of the true one." By ' the true one' he evidently 'm.cr)As Leander serratus {?enn2ci), of the family Palaemonidas, the common prawn of some districts, though not of all, as shown by Byerley's own remarks upon it, which follow the state- ment just quoted. He says that it is 'by no means common. Sometimes the fishermen may bring in from twelve to twenty amongst a hamper-full of the former species.' Similarly, A. O. Walker says of the Pandalus, ' abundant everywhere on stony ground,' but of Leander serratus, ' stony ground ; not abundant.'* The more modern writers appear to know nothing of ' sprawn ' as a local name for P. montagui, invariably in the vernacular calling it ' the shank.' Professor Herdman supplies the information that it ' feeds to a large extent on Sabellaria aheolata — a worm which builds up masses of rock by cementing together sand grains — as the stomach contains usually numerous setas, occasionally the remains of the worm itself,' besides several other items of a miscellaneous banquet.* Another prawn, Pasiphaa sivado (Risso), belonging not to the family Penseidze in which Byerley places it, but to the 1 Op. cit. vii. 1 16, 118 (1893). 8 Op. cit. ix. 152 (1895). s Fauna of Liverpool, 53.
- Trans. L'werp. Biol. Soc. vi. loi (1892). 6 ibid. viii. 74 (1894).
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