5360 EXAMINATION OF THE PRESENT STATE 
several days, but after passing to the northward of the “ Holman ” 
(Hantsholm) our skipper tired of tearing his net in the heavy swell so 
close inshore, and steamed outwards to shoot inside the “rough ” 
which runs north and south about fifteen miles from the Danish 
coast. It is, I believe, what is known to geologists as a “‘ moraine,” 
and consists apparently of detached boulders of various sizes. We 
got very little fish, but venturimg too far out we managed to capture 
a lump of granite (resembling that from Shapfell) about three feet 
long by two in breadth. It is the custom when a big stone or 
other impediment to trawling is brought up in the net, to keep it on 
deck until the Humber is reached. It is then pitched overboard off 
the New Sand Buoy, where it will be in nobody’s way. Tom, how- 
ever, would not be bothered with this particular geological specimen, 
and had it lowered overboard as soon as the net was cleared. ‘The 
skipper remonstrated, remarking that some one else might “ get ”’ it. 
“ Let ’em get it,” responded the mate, “ theyll get nowt else here,” 
—which seemed likely enough, to judge from our own success. 
By this time I had got to work with tow-nets and microscope, and 
the antics of Copepods and ‘‘such small deer” were a source of constant 
delight to the crew. More astonishing still were the minute pelagic 
stages of the turbot, which I beheve came then for the first time 
under human ken, though my colleague Mr. Cunningham had 
already discovered the older pelagic forms at Plymouth. I was 
able also to introduce my friends to the mystery of artificially ferti- 
lising fish eges, and had hatched out a small family of turbot in a 
pickle-bottle before we got back to port. Developing eggs of dif- 
ferent sorts were of course constantly captured in the tow-nets, and 
every night the microscope would be requisitioned for the use of the 
crew, to see how the youngsters were getting on, and to find out 
how it was possible to tell one from another. 
I never lacked assistance in hauling my “ trawls,’ 
elected to call them, and by the end of the voyage that worthy had 
become comparatively expert in sorting out and pickling the young 
fish. To subsequent tow-netting operations, carried out by him 
independently, the world of science is indebted for the completion 
of the series of the pelagic forms of the turbot and for the dis- 
covery of several stages of the mackerel which were previously 
unknown. 
To return to the business of the ship, we moved along inside the 
“moraine ’’ to a point about thirty-five miles north-north-west of the 
Reef, and got a few haddock and plaice, with occasional turbot, 
brill, and hake, but hardly enough to pay expenses. We fell in 
with a couple of foreign steam-trawlers, but they had had no luck 
either, so our skipper determined to strike out for fresh ground 
> as the skipper 
