When tlie fcin.-ilcs li.-nc left the place, the bottom is 

 SO entirely eovereil with tiieir eiigs tliat it gleams witii 

 a yellow colour; l)ut \\hen tlie males have shed their 

 milt on the o\a, tlie water is milky white, and the 

 bottom HO longer visible." Pali.as mentions "as a 

 curious tact" that several tisii, two, three, or e\-en ten, 

 cling so fast together with tiie aid of (he \ illous lateral 

 line that, if one of them be taken up, the others fol- 

 low with it, as if they were glued to each other, lie 

 adds, "l^ven in tiie sea tlie\' are seen swimming together 

 in this manner, and tiiis union between tlie sexes is 

 perhaps necessary for the fertilization of the S|)awn." 

 As we have seen, the males alone are furnished with 

 the villous bands; and Pallas' observation can there- 

 fore refer only to the emission of the milt by the 

 nuitual jjressure of the companion fishes, a supposition 

 wiiich bears out the statement that the males and fe- 

 males swim in separate shoals. Lanal\n, however, 

 gives an account" that points to a different conclusion. 

 "The female," he writes, "on approaching the beach to 

 deposit its spawn, is attended by two male fishes, who 

 huddle the female between them, nntil the whole body 

 is concealed under the projecting ridges, and iier head 

 only is visilile. In tiiis j^osition all tlu'ee run together, 

 with great swiftness, ujton the sands, wlien the males, 

 by some inherent imperceptible power compress the 

 body of the female, between their own, so as to expel 

 the spawn from the orifice at the tail. Having tluis 

 accomplished its deliver\', the three capelins separate, 

 and paddling with their whole force through the shal- 

 low water of the beach, generally succeed in regaining 

 once more the bosom of the deep; although man)' fail 

 to do so, and are cast upon the shore, especially if the 

 surf be at all heavy." If the observation be correct, 

 the spawning may thus be performed in two essentialh* 

 different manners. 



On the coast of Fiinnai'k the s]ia\\'ning, says Saks, 

 "commonh' takes place at a depth of 4 — 20 fathoms, 

 though it may possibly be performed on rocky bottoms 

 and in deeper water as well, on which head, however, 

 we have as yet no trustworthy observations'." "In 

 Varanger Fjord," writes Collett, "there is a good 

 and sure sjiawning-place off' the mouth of the Jakob 

 I'-lf. At tlie flood the Caiielins ascend high up the 



LIN. 881 



river, as far as the water is brackish enough." After 

 the breeding nund)ers of ("apelins, especialh' old males, 

 float in a dying state at the surface, or are cast ashore 

 in great hoajjs. We have above seen a similar mor- 

 tality, tlunigh not so great, attend the spawning of 

 the Smelt. 



In 187!t Capelin fry were first observed b}' Saks 

 on the 17th of June off' \'adso, after a fresh east wind 

 with a strong landward current. They were then, he 

 says, evidently just hatched, none of the s|K'cimens 

 collected measuring more than 8 — 10 mm.; but the 

 hatching-place certainly lay further east, no Capelin 

 roe having been obsened during the said year, either 

 off" \^adso or at the other two places in Varanger Fjord 

 examined by Saks. At this stage the fr\' were trans- 

 parent as water, with a very thin body, edged witli 

 a transparent vertical fin, and with a shapeless, broad 

 head, furnished with large, silvery eyes. They were 

 found in very great numbers, swimming about at the 

 surface. They were extremely sensitive, and died verj' 

 soon after leaving the water, however carefully they 

 were handled. Afterwards C'apelin fry were repeatedly 

 observed by Sak.s, even fir uj) Varanger Fjord: and 

 at the beginning of July thcv proved to compose the 

 principal food of the Coalfish. The Cod has also been 

 found by Collett to have its stomach full of Capelin 

 fry. When one 3-ear old, according to Colletf, the 

 Cajjelin is al>out 1 dm. long. 



Capelins large and small have thus to serve as 

 food for the fishes which give rise to the greatest 

 fisheries of the world, l)otli in X(jrway and Newfound- 

 land. The Capelin allures them in its train to the 

 fishing-grounds; but when it has spawned and again 

 returns to sea, it entices them away. It is the best 

 bait that can be used for Codfish in general. As hu- 

 man food it does not find favoui' with fastidious pa- 

 lates, on account of its unpleasant smell; but the Green- 

 landers dry it, and in this condition it is one of their 

 most important foods. It is taken with hoop-nets and 

 seines. In Finmark, according to Jcel, the Capelin 

 seine has 38 meshes to the iilii ("2 ft.), i. e. a mesh 

 It)'/ 2 mm- ill diameter. 



The food of the Ca]ielin consists mainly of small 

 crustaceans. It finds a plentiful diet in the Arctic 



" U. S. Comm. Fisli. and Fisheries, Kep. II (1872 and 1873). p. 225. 



' The above-mentioned obseivations of Pallas, however, point to this conclusion: and in consideration of the great density of the 

 Capelin shoals even out at sea, JUEL remarks (1. c, p. 4), "The greater number of the Capelins thus spawn probably in deep water." 



