406 THE HERRING FAMILY. 



egg. We may recall the fact that all gadoids and pleuro- 

 nectids, whose development is known, have buoyant pelagic 

 eggs, and amongst the nearer relations of the herring we find 

 that the sprat, pilchard and anchovy have the same character 

 of eggs and spawning-habit. A reference to the table of eggs 

 will show that, by this mode of classification, the herring is 

 juxtaposed amongst a number of the humbler and weaker 

 little shore-loving fishes, such as the blennies, gobies, gunnel, 

 suckers and sticklebacks, which all breed near the shore in 

 the locality which they frequent throughout life. These fishes 

 with demersal eggs are, apart from other considerations, too 

 small as a rule to be of much importance as food-fishes, though 

 all contribute to the nourishment of the latter. The cat-fish, 

 wrasse and lumpsncker form exceptions to this generalisation 

 in point of size, but on the other hand they cannot be regarded 

 as food-fishes to any important degree. 



Perhaps the eggs of the herring and its clupeoid allies 

 when compared with those of the gadoids give one of the most 

 instructive examples of the endless variety and resource of 

 Nature. In the case of the four common clupeoid species, 

 the herring, sprat, pilchard and anchovy, the most superficial 

 examination of their eggs with the naked eye is sufficient to 

 distinguish between them. The opacity, and thick adhesive 

 membrane of the first, the translucence and delicate capsule 

 of the second, the clear perivitelline space and oil-globule of 

 the third, and the unique shape (ovoid) of the last are all 

 characters readily recognisable without the assistance of the 

 lens. On the other hand, in the case of the gadoids, the eggs 

 resemble each other so closely in structure that the difference 

 in size alone serves to distinguish them, and in many cases 

 even this feature is not diagnostic. If we attempt to explain 

 the resemblance of the eggs of the cod, haddock, green cod, 

 poor-cod, whiting and bib as the result of genetic affinity, to 

 what shall we ascribe the marvellous divergence in structure 

 and appearance of the eggs of the herring, sprat, pilchard and 

 anchovy ? 



The herring, therefore, in having a demersal egg, is quite 

 the exception amongst British marine food-fishes. It may be 

 recollected that in the early days of the agitation against trawlers, 



