342 NATURAL SCIENCE. ' May. 



the eggs of the majority of food-fishes are buoyant or pelagic : a 

 discovery which, he remarks with unconscious humour, Mr. 

 Cunningham was able to announce without the aid of a steam- 

 launch. 



Chapter II. gives a popular account of our "Valuable Marine 

 Fishes," copiously illustrated by outline sketches of the species under 

 consideration, which, with the exception of that of the angler, a very 

 poor copy of Day's figure, help to convey a good idea of their general 

 appearance. We were not up till now aware that the stickleback and 

 the pipe-fish were " valuable food-fishes," and we were even under 

 the impression that the lancelet was not usually regarded as a fish. 

 The author is at some pains to explain to his readers that a lobster, 

 an oyster, a star-fish, a jelly-fish, and a whale, are not true fishes : if 

 his explanation is really necessary with our present standard of 

 national education it is a very humbling thought. The account of the 

 generation of fishes and their fecundity is a trifle voluminous, and, in 

 parts, out of place in a popular work of this description. 



The next two chapters deal with the eggs and larvae, growth, 

 migrations and habits. They are interesting reading and contain a 

 useful collection of facts. The author is a little inclined to state his 

 views upon disputed points as established facts, a habit which should 

 be avoided by one who tells the " professional fishman " that 

 " naturalists, although generally sick whilst at sea," are " on their 

 guard against jumping at conclusions " (p. 4). "There can be no 

 doubt that, in the sea, conger of both sexes die after spawning " 

 (p. 84). This sentence, if read in one way, is with regard to the 

 females a platitude, an impossibility in the case of the males, whilst 

 if read in the other vv^ay, is a conclusion arrived at by a process closely 

 akin to that of "jumping." 



At the end of Part I. the author discusses the preservation of 

 immature forms and the artificial propagation of fishes. He shows 

 the inadequacy of the size-limits recommended by the Parliamentary 

 Committee of 1893, and remarks: "As the circumstances of the 

 trawling industry and the habits of the fish do not appear to admit of 



the preservation of all plaice, soles, turbot and brill till they have 



spawned once, we have to face the possibility of a continued 

 diminution in the supply of these fish, in spite of all protection of the 

 young, as a consequence of the excessive capture of the mature 

 individuals." As a remedy for this lugubrious state of afl"airs, 

 artificial propagation is discussed, and calculations entered into to 

 show that "the total results of the work of the [Dunbar] hatchery is 

 equivalent to leaving in the sea one mature female out of every 2,000 

 killed at Grimsby, a proceeding which would clearly not make much 

 difference to the total supply of plaice in the North Sea" (p. 141). 

 Although we believe the author's opinions to be erroneous, we can 

 only point out here that the whole deduction depends upon the 

 following: — " We may suppose that the destruction is nine times as 

 great in the sea, which is certainly more than the actual proportion." 

 A consideration of the whole physical environment of pelagic eggs 

 and the enormous fecundity of the fishes spawning in this habitat 

 points to a factor nearer ninety times nine than the author's estimate. 

 His suggestion of keeping tame spawners in order to sow the sea 

 with "vast quantities " of pelagic eggs can hardly be taken seriously. 



With Part II., the "History of Particular Species," we must 

 honestly say we are disappointed. Perhaps the " Monograph on the 

 Sole," with its exquisite coloured illustrations, may have led us to 

 expect too much ; but with such a theme as our young fishes, one or two 



