132 DEEP-SEA FISHING. 



out roe. As mentioned in our introductory observa- 

 tions, Mr. Couch was disposed to believe from such 

 evidence as he possessed that the pilchard spawned at 

 the surface, and that the ova were enveloped in a sheet 

 of tenacious jelly which enabled them to float. Many 

 miles of water far away from the land had been ob- 

 served covered with this spawn, but the development of 

 the ova had not been traced. That pilchards commonly 

 spawn far out at sea, whether at the surface or not, is 

 evident from the fact of their being taken there by the 

 mackerel nets, the mesh of which is sufficiently large to 

 allow a pilchard to pass through if it be not in spawn- 

 ing condition ; but Mr. Couch tells us that on some 

 parts of the Cornish coast, the pilchards are ready to 

 spawn in October, and that spawning then takes place 

 near the land. From our inquiries among the fisher- 

 men we learnt that this October spawning was not very 

 general, and it occurred mostly among the fish on the 

 eastern part of the coast. We have distinct evidence, 

 however, of more than one spawning season, as in the 

 case of the herring ; but there is nothing to show that 

 any particular locality is frequented by the pilchards 

 for the special purpose of depositing their spawn. The 

 fact of the bulk of these fish shedding their ova in deep 

 water is favourable to the idea of the floating of the 

 ova during development, and the occasional spawning 

 near the land appears to us to point to the same con- 

 clusion as we arrived at in the case of the herring — that 

 the process takes place independently of locality, and 

 has no obvious connection with the periodical move- 

 ments of the fish. Feeding and reproduction are the 

 two ffreat motive instincts of all animals, and it is 

 evident that the latter does not impel the bulk of the 

 pilchards to come inshore. 



