200 REPOUT ON THE SURFACE DRIFT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 



"THE DIIIFT OF FLOATING FISH-EGGS IN THE CHANNEL. 



''January 27th, 1897. 



"8in, — I should be obliged if through the medium of your paper you 

 would be good enough to give publicity to a series of experiments which 

 have just been commenced by the Marine liiological Association, with a view 

 to determine the direction of the drift of floating bodies in the western part 

 of the English Channel. The experiments are of such a nature that any 

 of your readers, who either from business or pleasure frequent the sea-shore, 

 may be able to assist materially in their successful completion. 



" We are preparing a large number of ordinary egg-shaped soda-water 

 bottles, weighted with shot in such a way that they float vertically in sea- 

 water, with only a very small portion of the neck exposed. In each bottle 

 a stamped and numbered post card is placed, and the bottle is corked and 

 sealed. Each post card has the following notice upon it : — 



(( ( 



For Scientific Enquiry into the Currents of the Sea. 



" ' Whoever finds this is earnestly requested to write distinctly the Date 

 and Locality, with full particulars, in the space below, and to put the card in 

 the nearest post office. [No. ] 



" ' Locality where found 



" ' Date when found 



" ' Name and address of sender ' 



" We are placing the bottles in the sea at various points, the exact locality 

 where each starts upon its journey being recorded. It is hoped that several 

 gross of bottles will be put out during the next few months. 



" JMight I ask, therefore, that anyone who may find such a bottle washed 

 up on the shore will break it, take out the post card, fill in the required 

 information, and put the card in the nearest post office 1 



" Teachers in the schools of the various towns and villages along the south 

 coast could do us a great service by asking their boys to look out for the 

 bottles, and in case of any being found, seeing that the post cards were 

 correctly filled in. 



" It might interest your readers if I explain shortly the reason for making 

 these experiments. It is now a Avell-known fact that the majority of the 

 food-fishes spawn in the sea at some distance from the coast, and that the eggs 

 float in the water. Tliese floating eggs are carried about by the currents for 

 some considerable time before they are liatched, and the little fish (larva), 

 when it leaves tlie egg, is still so small and light that it is at the mercy of the 

 wind and waves. Now it is a fact that although the fish generally spawn at 

 some distance from the coast, the young fish are usually found close inshore. 

 This is particularly the case with flat-fishes. For instance, there are im- 

 portant spawning grounds for plaice south-east of the Eddystone, Avhilst 

 young plaice, under one inch long, are found only in shallow water in sandy 

 bays or estuaries, such as Whitsand Bay or the mouth of the river Exe. 

 These very young lish have i>robably been brought ashore by currents, when 



