It had been calculatec m Smith's " Maritime Hittory of Mam

chusetts" that the blow ihowed as much, force as that of fifteen blows of one of the large double-handed hammers ; that it would re quire those blows to drive an iron bolt the same depth into the timbers. The Lord Chief Justice : The blow of the sword-fish must have almost the force of a cannon ball. Professor Owen : Just so ; mmy descrip tion I compared the blow to that of a swivel shot. Mr Frank Buckland said that the great power of the swordfish was m forcing itself ahead ; its power was m its tail, like the screw of a ship; but the fish could not " go astern." (Laughter.) It would have some slight power m that direction. Mr Milward : But suppose that the fish was jammed by the head ? Mr Buckland : I think if I had a swordfish by the beak he could not go back. I have noticed with live salmon that they always try to go forward, not back. Whether a Bwordfish could extract its beak from the side of a ship would of course depend upon the depth that it had penetrated into the wood. If it were m to the depth of the breadth of one's hand, I do not think it possible that the fish could get it out. I do not think that m the present instance it could have been withdrawn. The copper would clench the sword. The hole m the copper was shown to the witness, and he said, " The swordfish, having got his beak m there, I think could not get it out again. I would not give much for his chance. (A laugh.) He had looked through all the books ever written upon swordfish, and there was plenty of evidence of their having got their beaks m, but none of their having got them out again. Cross-examined by Sir G. Honyman : You never had hold of a live Bwordfish by the beak, and tried whether you could prevent him going backward — a sort of " pull devil, pull baker"? Mr Buckland : No ; I should like to. [Laughter.] Sir Geo. Honyman : Of course, you would not differ m opinion from Professor Owen. 