INTRODUCTORY. 43 



come ^^nde^ our notice by being brought on shore, or 

 emptied out of the net and thrown away before our 

 eyes. 



We are, however, quite disposed to beheve that the 

 number of young fry frequenting these sandy bays, as 

 well as those which are caught there, is much larger 

 than would be found in an area of equal size in deep 

 Avater. But we do not think it necessarily follows that 

 they were all bred there. If it be true, as M. Sars has 

 no doubt of its being, that the ova of all the Pleuronec- 

 tida3 or fiat-fish float at the surface, and there is very 

 good reason to think the sj)awn of these fishes may be 

 shed at all distances from the land, there can be little 

 doubt that some of these floating ova in various stages 

 of development are drifted close to and into the bays 

 after having been for some time the sport of the tides. 

 Many of tliera are no doubt washed on sliore like other 

 drifting objects and are destroyed, but others which 

 tlien happen to be just at the point of hatching are 

 precisely in the situation most favourable for the pre- 

 servation of the young fish as soon as it leaves its 

 prison-house ; for it can reach the shelter of the sand 

 without having very far to go. The probability — we 

 are obliged to put it in that way, for direct evidence is 

 wanting, but we think we are justified in using the 

 word — is that those young fry whicli escape being 

 eaten remain in the locality for some days or weeks, 

 perhaps longer, and their numbers are daily recruited 

 by additions from the same source, resulting in the 

 abundance of whicli the small-meshed nets give us 

 plenty of evidence. It seems most likely that all the 

 ova produced by those fishes which actually spawn in 

 these bays are either washed on shore or drifted away ; 

 for they must be incapable of resisting the action of 



