76 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



Shetlands into the North Sea. Here, as glass-eels, they are 

 generally distributed from December till February, more 

 and more closely approaching the shore, until they finally 

 forsake the sea for the spring migration the "eel-fair" up 

 our streams and rivers. 1 



The second pamphlet deals with the " Spawning Areas of 

 Sand-eels in the North Sea." Sand-eels are of considerable 

 economic importance in that they form a permanent source 

 of food for such fishes as cod, haddock, whiting, and herring. 

 In January and February practically no larval sand-eels are 

 to be found in Scottish waters, but in March they appear in 

 countless thousands, especially in the Pentland Firth area, 

 where as many as 19,860 individuals have been captured in a 

 single haul of a tow net. The conclusion is reached that the 

 spawning areas depend on a moderate depth of water, say 30 

 to 50 fathoms, and on the presence of a sandy bottom free 

 from much mud. The chief spawning areas on the east 

 coast are the mouth of the Firth of Forth and northwards 

 within the 40 fathom line, the Moray Firth, and the area 

 between Caithness and Fair Isle. 2 



The " largest known animal" forms always an object of 

 special attention and of wonder. The famous American 

 Diplodocus carnegii, with a length of 70 to 80 feet, stands 

 almost at the limit, although its length has been frequently 

 exceeded in Scottish waters by the finner whale commonly 

 known as the Blue or Sibbald's Rorqual {Bal&noptera sibbaldi), 

 which occasionally reaches a length of over 80 feet. But 

 this record has been altogether outdone by Antarctic 

 examples of the same whale, for the late Major Barrett- 

 Hamilton is reported to have examined in South Georgia a 

 specimen which exceeded in length 103 feet. And already 

 this extraordinary creature must fall into second place in the 

 race for size. There has just been discovered in the 

 Cretaceous formation of German East Africa a dinosaur of 

 enormous proportions. This reptile, to be known as 



1 A. Bowman, Fisheries, Scotland, Sci. Invest., 1912, ii. (December 



I9I3). 



2 A. Bowman, Fisheries, Scotland, Sci. Invest., 1913, iii. (January 



1914)- 



