THE COD FISHERIES NEAR THE LOFFODEN ISLANDS. 599 



server, and may gain fame for the one who starts some such brilliant 

 suppositions, but this way of proceeding is, in my opinion, by no means 

 a safe one. It is better to proceed slowly but surely even if every foot 

 of ground has to be gained by overcoming difQculties. The knowledge 

 obtained in this manner may truly bo called a safe capital which will 

 yield rich interest. My first object was to gain as complete a knowledge 

 as possible of the natural history of the codfish, and I have sought to 

 gain it all the more eagerly, as I consider such a knowledge as an impor- 

 tant result in itself. 



True to my above-mentioned determination to follow a well-defined 

 plan in my investigations, I have, in the full sense of the word, begun 

 ah ovo, with the development of the egg, and have, step by step, fol- 

 lowed the further development and fate of the young fish during their 

 stay in their native place. Any one who knows how incomplete our 

 knowledge of the propagation and development of salt-water fish has 

 been will grant that a connected series of observations of one of the 

 most common and most important species of fish will always possess 

 great scientific interest 5 and I do not hesitate for a moment to declare 

 it as my sincere conviction that such observations are also of great prac- 

 tical importance, if in no other respect, at any rate because they must 

 be considered as a necessary link in the chain of our knowledge of the 

 natural history of this fish. 



It will easily be understood that the knowledge of the development 

 of the young codfish gained by a single series of observation cannot 

 be comjilete and exhaustive. I have, to the best of my ability, endeav- 

 ored to get from them as much information as possible, but I must con- 

 fess that there are certain points which require a closer examination 

 and a fuller corroboration. I therefore consider it necessary to follow 

 the development of the young fish once more, and likewise to ascertain 

 whether they are found under the same conditions on other points of 

 our extensive coast. It would, finally, be a master of great interest to 

 follow the development of the young codfish farther into the winter, 

 which doubtless could be done if one had the necessary apparatus. 



D— EEPOET FOE 1868 AND 1869. 



In accordance with the plan mentioned in my last report, I started for 

 the Loffoden in the first days of November, 1868, in order to continue 

 my observations of the young codfish. I did not expect, however, that 

 my observations would extend very far into the winter, as shortly before 

 I left the Loffoden Islands last season I thought I had noticed signs 

 that the young codfish were beginning to go out to the great deep. 1 

 considered it of great importance to follow them as far as possible, and 

 with this object in view, I was not frightened by the prospect of having 

 to spend the darkest and most stormy part of winter in these arctic 

 regions. 



