424 THE HERRING FAMILY. 



in October and are ripe from December till March, even on till 

 May, whilst Cunningham at Plymouth found pilchards' eggs in 

 the tow-nets on August llth and again on November 9th, and 

 obtained others from the ripe females on September 5th. It 

 remains for future investigators to harmonise these conflicting 

 opinions and statements, or at any rate, to discover the truth 

 with regard to this much-vexed question. No doubt the 

 special environment in each case will tend to cause a disagree- 

 ment in results, when compared by calendar months, for the 

 date of spawning is probably determined in the main by the 

 mean temperature at the particular period. 



The ripe female carries about 60,000 eggs, a small number 

 compared with other pelagic food-fishes. Most authorities 

 appear to agree that the pilchard spawns far from land, probably 

 from 20 to 50 miles offshore and that the egg is of the pelagic 

 type. 



In this connection Couch makes a remarkable statement : 

 ' I have reason to suppose that the spawn is shed at the surface 

 and mingled with it a large quantity of tenacious mucus in 

 which it is kept floating while it is obtaining the vivifying 

 influence of the light and warmth of the sun. My notes on the 

 subject are that presently, after spawning, a sheet of jelly, 

 enclosing myriads of enlarging grains of spawn, has been seen to 

 extend several miles in length and a mile or more in breadth 

 over the surface of the sea.' Whilst attaching due value to 

 Couch's remarks, as those of a competent naturalist, we cannot 

 but think that there has been a mistake ; the whole subject of 

 the spawning of marine fishes was so obscure till recently that 

 such an error is the more excusable. As Cunningham has 

 pointed out, Couch's description tallies most with the general 

 appearance of the spawn of the Angler-fish, though it is prob- 

 able that other appearances than the latter misled him. 



To Dunn must be ascribed the first observation, in 1871, of 

 the pelagic spawn of the pilchard. A spawning pilchard was 

 captured and came under his cognisance at Mevagissey Bay, 

 and he noted, not only that the eggs were pelagic and floated 

 freely, but that they were translucent, like others of the same 

 type. 



