206 THE ST. ANDREWS MARINE LABORATORY. 



tlie Laboratory till the commencement of the post-larval 

 stage. The pelagic eggs of the ling were procured in con- 

 siderable numbers at sea by aid of a liner, who fertilized 

 the ova, and transmitted them to the Laboratory. Further 

 remarks were also made on the tunny, on the affinities of 

 the poor or power cod, and the bib, on the weevers, on the 

 parental instincts of Gyclopterus, on the very young cod and 

 other food-fishes, on the capture of food-fishes by the liners, 

 on the injuries to baited hooks and to fishes on the lines, 

 on shrimp-trawling and sprat-fishing, on the ova of a number 

 of other fishes, on the effect of storms on the marine Fauna, 

 and on certain invertebrates, including forms used as bait.* 

 Remarks on an abnormal Hydromedusa (Thaumantias) devoid 

 of mouth were also communicated to the British Association. 

 Some experiments on the preservation of mussels for bait were 

 likewise carried out at the Laboratory, proving that by the 

 aid of a solution of such a substance as boro-glyceride they 

 can be kept for a period of several weeks in winter (after 

 they have been put on the lines) and for a shorter period in 

 summer. Moreover, it was found that the use of such a 

 preservative does not seem to impair the usefulness of the 

 bait on the fishing grounds. 



This year Mr. Wilson further extended his observations 

 on the development of the mussel {Mytilus edulis), while Dr. 

 Scharff, now of the Museum of the Royal College of Science, 

 Dublin, carried out an interesting inquiry into the ovarian 

 ova of Teleosteans. Mr. E. E. Prince further published 

 papers on the early stages in the development of the food- 

 fishes, on oleaginous spheres in the yolk of Teleostean ova, 

 and on the development of the pectoral fins in Teleosteans. 



The use of a huge midwater net made at the Laboratory 

 greatly facilitated the study of the life-histories of the food- 

 fishes and other forms. 



In 1887 the researches on the development of Teleosteans 

 were further extended, especially in regard to post-larval 

 stages, the use of the large mid-water net on board the 

 Fishery steamer " Garland " and also in the Yawl " Dal- 



* Vide ' Ann. Nat. Hist.,' May, Juae and August, 1886 ; 'Nature,' 1886, and 

 « Report to Fishery Board for Scotland,' 1886. 



