156 



DEPARTMENT OF THE NATAL SERVICE 



south, while exhibiting a considerable resemblance to that of the fish from North- 

 umberland strait, on the one hand, and ISTorth Sydney on the other. Fig. 42 shows 

 that the growth of the Magdalen Island herring may be more or less aptly charac- 

 terized as something midway between that of the Northumberland Strait and that of 

 the North Sydney fish. 



13. Samples from Northumherland strait. North Sydney, and the Atlantic coast 

 compared. — Of the comparisons which still remain to be made, that of the Atlantic 

 fish (West Ardoise and Lockeport) with the herring from North Sydney, is the most 

 interesting. We can judge from the foregoing that the rest of the comparisons will 

 turn out much as with the samples from the Ifagdaleu islands, only with diiferences 

 more strongly marked. Table 44 shows, that such is the case. 



Tablk 44.-^Growth of herring from Northumberland Strait (year-class 1903) com- 

 pared first with herring from North Sydney (year-class 1903 + 1904), then with 

 herring from Nova Scotia (year-class 1903 + 1904). 



Locality. 



Northiimberlanri Strait. 



North Sydney 



Difference (/)) 



I) 



(i 



Nova Scotia 



Difference (Z)) 



D 



d 



72 

 0-78 

 06 



1-20 



0-87 

 015 



3 7 



Unfortunately, the observations available for comparison of the herring from North 

 Sydney with those from more southerly Atlantic waters are rather few. We have 

 therefore here taken, in addition to the 1904-03 year-class, also the younger fish of 

 1908, there being at any rate some of these in the samples from both waters. 



Table 4.5 shows the comparison for fish of 1904-03. 



Table 45. — Growth of herring from Nova Scotia compared with that of herring from 

 North Sydney. (Year-classes 1903+1904 in both cases.) 



All averages save for t.^ are greater in the case of the Atlantic fish. Only in two 

 instances however, is the difference greater than three times its error. 



Table 46 shows the comparison for the 1908 year-class; here also we find one or 

 "two marked differences, while the averages for all dimensions, save t-i are again 

 greatest in the case of the Atlantic fish. The unanimous testimony afforded by these 

 comparisons between the different age groups is, in my opinion, sufficient evidence 

 of a real diffe7*ence in growth between the fish from North Sydney and those in the 



