THE COD FISHERIES NEAR THE LOFFODEN ISLANDS. o8i> 



As they were all swimming abont on the surface of the water, I could 

 take them up with a tiat porcelain saucer and thus transfer them to my 

 glass vessels without touching them or taking them out of the water. 

 In this manner I succeeded in keeping them alive for some time and could 

 subject them toathorough examination. During the followingdays I re- 

 peatedly visited the same places, in order to observe their further de- 

 velopment, and when the weather was tolerably calm I was generally 

 successful. I noticed, however, that their number was not equally large 

 every day ; and some days I could, even when the sea was very calm, 

 watch a whole forenoon and only catch a few. I soon found the cause 

 of this. Whenever the fish could be seen in large numbers the sea was 

 swarming with microscopic animals, especially those small crustaceans 

 which are commonly called " herring food " (Calanidcc). In these little 

 animals the tender young codfish found an easily digested and nutritious 

 food, and seemed to enjoy them with great relish. By examining the 

 contents of their stomachs under the microscope, 1 found this to consist 

 exclusively of small crustaceans, chiefly belonging to two species, C(da- 

 nus Jinmarchicus and Temora longicornis. 



The warm and calm weather which continued during the following 

 days, and the gentle easterly current, brought constantly-increasing 

 masses of these crustaceans near the shore, and on the i2th June the 

 sea presented a scene of animal life of which only he who has spent a 

 summer on our western coast can form an idea. Everywhere in the 

 sounds and inlets the water seemed thick with myriads of these micro- 

 scopic crustaceans, and by taking up a little sea-water in the hollow of 

 the hand one caught hundreds of these diminutive animals. Among 

 them floated dififerent kinds of medusse, stretching out their thread-like 

 feelers, and quickly drawing them in when a sufficient number of these 

 small crustaceans had settled on them. But of special interest to me 

 was the almost incredible number of young codfish which at the same 

 time filled the sea. They might be seen everywhere from the surface of 

 the water down to a considerable depth, appearing like dark vibrating 

 threads eagerly engaged in snapping after the different species of 

 Calanus. They had grown considerably, the largest measuring about 

 24 millimeters in length, and had gradually lost their embryonic appear- 

 ance by which in the beginning they distinguished themselves so much 

 from the grown codfish. The clear and undivided embryonic fin sur- 

 rounding the whole body had already in part dissolved into the first 

 and second dorsal fins peculiar to the grown fish, and even the charac- 

 teristic thread-like appendage under the chin had, in the larger speci- 

 mens, begun to show itself as a little projection on the lower jaw. 



Up to this time I had been able to observe them uninterruptedly from 

 day to day, and had taken note of the slightest changes which they had 

 undergone. But now unfortunately there was a change in the weather, 

 strong east wind and westerly current, which for a number of days made it 

 impossible for me to get on the water. I nevertheless hoped that as soon 



