REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONGER. 29 



The condition of tlie bones of the head themselves in the congei* 

 which have died with ripening ovaries is still more remarkable. 

 The bones are reduced in size, and are so soft and friable that they 

 break easily in the fingers ; they offer no resistance when bent, and 

 can be cut with the finger-nail. In order to expose the teeth I cut 

 down from the angles of the mouth with a large knife which was 

 anything but sharp, and the knife cut straight through bones and 

 tissues almost as if it were cutting cheese. In the head of the 

 conger bought on the fish-quay it was impossible to cut through the 

 bones ; I had to find the joints, and use a good deal of force to 

 separate the bones from one another. 



I also examined the head of a ripe male, and found it was in the 

 same condition, the teeth nearly all gone, the bones in a spongy 

 and soft condition. 



The reason of this is probably to be found in the fact that the 

 breeding conger lives so long a time without food. No doubt much 

 of the matei'ial of the body is absorbed into the blood and used up 

 in the development of the ova, but probably some of the lime salts 

 to which the bones owe their hardness are excreted. 



In any case it is not to be wondered at, since tissues are always 

 undergoing waste, that the bones should degenerate in a fish which 

 takes no food for six months, and in which, further, a large weight 

 of ova is developing at the expense of the rest of the body. 



The following two tables give a synopsis of some numerical data 

 related to the observations I have described. 



Table I. — Numerical data concerning Ripening Female Ganger 

 Specimens examined hy me at Plymouth. 



Recorded hy Hermes. 

 ? . ? 22 lbs. 8 oz. 8 lbs. 3,300,000 



Recorded hy Day. 

 June, 1876 . ? 15i lbs. 7 lbs. 6,336,512 



