202 THE COD FAMILY. 



The foregoing stages are very abundant in July in the deep 

 water off the Isle of May and the mouth of the Forth, but they 

 also appear west of Inchkeith in the latter estuary. They are 

 indeed more characteristic of the former region, as far as 

 present observations go, than of the shallow water of the open 

 bays such as St Andrews, though on reaching a somewhat 

 larger size they are quite common in the latter expanse. Thus 

 the very great numbers that are procured by the mid-water net 

 25 30 miles S.E. of the Isle of May in July is in contrast with 

 anything in inshore waters. They range, in a single haul of 

 the net, from 9 to 58 mm., comparatively few, however, being 

 at either extreme. Both they and the cod in these early 

 stages are infested by a crustacean parasite (Caligus), which 

 adheres to various parts of the head and body, just as another 

 crustacean in a larval stage (Anceus) tenaciously attacks the 

 young flounders in tidal harbours and inshore grounds. 



At 2 inches in length the pigment has increased and the 

 ventral fins have elongated beyond the vent. 



The barbel is still distinct and appears to persist in some 

 up to the stage represented by a length of 3^ inches, though 

 later it disappears, the adults having no trace of it. This 

 is an interesting instance of an organ, which has been given 

 up and done away with by the adult, persisting in the young 

 stages. 



As regards the habitat of the developing whiting we have 

 already seen that there is reason to believe that it spawns on 

 somewhat similar areas to the cod and haddock, though the 

 pelagic eggs of the whiting are rather more abundant in the 

 inner stations of the Forth, a fact which agrees with Dr 

 Fulton's observations on the distribution of spawning adults. 

 The young larval forms seem to swim about actively in the 

 surface-water, and on assuming the post-larval stage the 

 majority appear to adopt the same habits as the haddock and 

 keep to the mid-water offshore, but on reaching the young 

 stage (3 to 6 inches in length) they frequent the inshore 

 waters and estuaries. They are also procured at some distance 

 from land, being frequently caught in the mid-water net in 

 the deeper water. It is rare, however, to find a whiting so 



