178 NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 
ground lying to the south of Scarborough was also fairly clean, 
but elsewhere a considerable amount of rubbish was met with. The 
commonest hydroid in this, as in any other part of the North Sea 
known to me, is Hydrallmania falcata. Seaweeds are represented 
chiefly by Fucus serratus (near the rocks), and various red weeds 
(Delesseria, &c). Usually we caught a few edible crabs, and some- 
times a lobster, but of smaller Invertebrates other than hydroids and 
polyzoans my notes mention the occurrence of only Portwnus holsatus, 
Corystes cassivelaunus, aud Asterias rubens. 
My records deal, in all, with thirteen hauls, and the fish taken on 
the different grounds may be treated collectively, as, on the whole, 
one ground yielded much the same as another. Soles, which formed 
the object of the “ Garland’s ” operations, were decidedly scarce, 
sixteen and a half pairs being the most obtained in any one night’s 
fishing. They were, however, all fine fish, no immature specimens 
being taken. We were told that it was too early in the season to 
eet many soles in the trawl, though good catches were being made 
by the liners. I cannot pretend to say why these fish should be more 
readily canght on a hook at this time of the year, since we were 
working practically the same ground as the liners; but such seems 
to be undoubtedly the case, and it is only one amongst the many 
features of marine biology which our ignorance at present relegates 
to the category of mysteries. One can understand that directly after 
spawning the fish are more hungry, and so take a bait more readily 
than at other times ; but that is far from explaining why they are more 
successful in evading a trawl at that season. It seems probable that 
the reason is to be sought in some sessional change in the organisms 
on which they prey, or in the habits of such organisms. Be this as 
it may, I record the simple fact on authority that appears to me to 
be entirely reliable. 
Neither turbot nor brill find a place in the list of fish caught, 
though at one time I am told that the former species was not in- 
frequent in the bay. There is only mention of one lemon sole, a 
specimen of 5 inches. 
In each of two hauls about twenty plaice are recorded ; on all other 
occasions the number was considerably less, so that this fish cannot 
be regarded as at all numerous during the time we worked. On 
one occasion we took three of 17 inches; specimens of 14 and 15 
inches are mentioned in two hauls; in all the rest the size was 
smaller, the minimum being 5 inches. Common dabs were only 
moderately abundant, and most were small. The only other flat-fish 
taken were three specimens of Solea lutea—about two or three miles 
off the Castle. In Eagle Clarke and Roebuck’s “ Yorkshire Verte- 
brata” this species is included as “reported as having been taken 
