NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 



17 



183 3 



It is obvious that the three in the second column were not likely to 



be really different from the rest, and I have no doubt that they were 



really spent. 



The condition of the females was : — 



Ripe or Apparently 



certainly spent. immature. 



9 in. . . .1 



10 

 11 

 12 

 13 



1 and 1 ? 



4 and 3 ? 



3 and 6 ? 



1? 



The smallest female was 9^ in, long, the right ovary 3| in. long and 

 flaccid, and this fish had certainly spawned, as there were some ripe 

 eggs still in the cavity of the ovary. Eight of the specimens, 10 to 12 in. 

 long, showed no signs of previous spawning, and were very possibly 

 immature, but the others marked ? showed in abundance, and very 

 distinctly, the opaque granular masses, which I believe to be evidence 

 of previous spawning. One specimen, 11^ in. long, showed very 

 numerous masses of granules : the end of its right ovary was 2^ in. 

 from the anterior end of the ventral fin, and 3^ in. from the posterior 

 end. I consider this fish to have been almost certainly spent. But 

 putting aside all questions of probability, the examination of this 

 sample proves that male plaice are sometimes ripe in the North Sea 

 at 7 in., and females at 9 in. Mr. Holt found a ripe male at 6 in. (see 

 his paper in this Journal vol. ii. p. 376), but regarded it as altogether 

 exceptional, and found only a few nearly ripe at 9 and 10 in., none at 

 11 and 12. He records one female as mature at 13 in., none at 14, and 

 many from 15 in. upwards. On the other hand, the condition of the 

 sample considered agrees closely with the results I obtained at 

 Plymouth, where I found a male and two females mature at 9 in. 

 Mr. Holt states that he examined the larger fisli chiefly during the 

 spawning season, and I can only infer that he did not begin to examine 

 Nkw Seuies.— Vol. IV. No. 1. C 



