358 RE POET OF THE COUNCIL, 1890. 



The Director of the Association, Mr. G. C. Bourne, has continued 

 his observations on the pelagic fauna in the neighbourhood of 

 Plymouth, and was also able through the courtesy of Capt. Aldrich, 

 R.N., to make an expedition off the south-west coast of Ireland in 

 H.M.S. " Research " in July last, for the purpose of comparing the 

 surface fauna at the entrance of the Channel with that of the Channel 

 itself. Some interesting observations have been made in connection 

 with the presence of multicellular floating algte in spring months 

 and the presence of mackerel, which it is hoped may lead to 

 practical results. 



The Director has made observations and collected notes on the 

 destruction of immature hsh in various localities, and has been able, 

 with the kind co-operation of the medical staff of the Deep Sea 

 Mission to Fishermen, to arrange an extensive inquiry into the 

 presence of immature fish in deep waters in the North Sea, and their 

 movements and destruction by beam trawling. This inquiry is in 

 progress, and promises to be full of interest. 



In connection with the destruction of immature soles in the 

 estuary of the Thames the Director has been making arrangements 

 for keeping young soles in enclosed ponds with the view of rearing 

 them to a marketable size, as is done in the Adriatic. For various 

 reasons these experiments have been delayed, and are not yet in 

 progress. 



Experiments are also being made on the possibility of cultivating 

 soles in fresh water, and it has been proved that the adult sole may 

 be kept in fresh water. 



In conjunction with Dr. G. H. Fowler, the Director has studied 

 the natural histoiy of the oyster, and through the kindness of Lord 

 Revelstoke he has been able to arrange a series of practical 

 inquiries on the natural history and propagation of the oyster in 

 the river Yealm. 



The Naturalist of the Association, Mr, J. T. Cunningham, has 

 been chiefly occupied during the past year with a treatise on the 

 common sole, which is now ready for publication. 



Mr. Cunningham also has gathered much valuable information 

 about the occurrence of the anchovy in English waters, and the 

 possibility of an English anchovy fishery. A full account of the 

 anchovy is given in the last number of the Journal, vol. i, No. 3. 



In the early spring of this year Mr. Cunningham made several 

 expeditions to procure the ova of soles and other flat-fishes. He 

 was able to secure and artificially fertilize a much larger number of 

 soles' ova than on any previous occasion, and the fei'tilized ova 

 were successfully hatched and the larvse reared, up to the period of 

 the absorption of the yolk-sac, in the aquarium. 



