e water, while the greater part of the
body is buried in the sand, and thus they entice the smaller fishes to
come within easy reach of the capacious jaws. The dory often attains a
weight of 12 lb., although those usually brought into the market do not
average more than 6 or 7 lb. It is highly valued as an article of food.

The family _Zeidae_ has assumed special interest of late, O. Thilo[1]
and G. A. Boulenger[2] having shown that they have much in common with
the flat-fishes or _Pleuronectidae_ and must be nearly related to the
original stock from which this asymmetrical type has been evolved,
especially if the Upper Eocene genus _Amphistium_ be taken into
consideration. This affinity is further supported by the observations
made by L. W. Byrne[3] on the asymmetry in the number and arrangement of
the bony plates at the base of the dorsal and anal fins in the young of
the John Dory. (G. A. B.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "Die Vorfahren der Schollen," _Biol. Centralbl._ xxii. (1902), p.
717.

[2] "On the systematic position of the Pleuronectidae," _Ann. and
Mag._ N. H. x. (1902), p. 295.

[3] "On the number and arrangement of the bony plates of the young
John Dory," _Biometrika_, ii. (1902), p. 115.

DOSITHEUS MAGISTER, Greek grammarian, flourished at Rome in the 4th
century A.D. He was the author of a Greek translation of a Latin
grammar, intended to assist the Greek-speaking inhabitants of the empire
in learning Latin. The translation, at first word for word, becomes less
frequent, and finally is discontinued altogether. The Latin grammar used
was based on the same authorities as those of Charisius and Diomedes,
which accounts for the many points of similarity. Dositheus contributed
very little of his own. Some Greek-Latin exercises by an unknown writer
of the 3rd century, to be learnt by heart and translated, were added to
the grammar. They are of considerable value as illustrating the social
life of the period and the history of the Latin language. Of these
[Greek: hermeneumata] (Interpretamenta), the third book, containing a
collection of words and phrases from everyday conversation ([Greek:
kathemerine homilia]) has been preserved. A further appendix consisted
of Anecdotes, Letters and Rescripts of the emperor Hadrian; fables of
Aesop; extracts from Hyginus; a history of the Trojan War, abridged from
the Iliad; and a legal fragment, [Greek: Peri eleutheroseon] (_De
manumissionibus_).