18 
back, the lateral fins meeting and slightly overlapping, and the tail 
curled round on one side, the tip pointing towards and nearly 
reaching the head. Passing on to the spawning of the cod tribe, 
Mr. Lee described the enveloping membrane of the eggs as so thin 
and trausparent that they were hardly perceptible by an uneducated 
eye. In appearance they resembled clear globules, rather smaller 
than a granule of boiled sago. He found that the specific gravity 
of these eggs was so delicately adjusted by the All-wise Ruler of 
Nature that in water of the density of that taken from the open sea 
they floated even when it was tranquil, whilst the constant motion 
of that which washed the shores, althongh its density was less, was 
suflicient to preserve them from sinking to the bottom. The floating 
of these ova is accomplished by the presence of several small 
globules of oil, which may be seen within the ovi-sac, and dotted 
over the yelk. Under the microscope the embryos, variously 
developed, show beautifully the form of the blastoderm in the least 
ripe specimens, and in the more advanced the young fish may be 
seen curled round within them; the prominent eyes, the arched 
mouth, the rudimentary gills, and the vertebral column being plainly 
apparent. Some days after the ova were first seen in the tank, not 
only was the form of the fish discernible in many of them, but the 
young fry just hatched were detected in the water enjoying indepen- 
dent life. The tiny things, when first turned out of their ege- 
shelter, are only about three-sixteenths of an inch long, not nearly 
so large as a young perch at the same period. It would take a 
dozen of them to make up in weight and bulk the body of a gnat. 
He (Mr. Lee) could not at present state positively from personal 
knowlege how long a time elapsed between the emission of the 
spawn by the mother fish and the escape of the young fry from the 
egg. Up to the present time he had been unsuccessful in his 
endeavours to ascertain this with precision. Dr. George Ossian 
Sars, of Christiana, stated that the period was sixteen days. He 
hoped to have verified this by artificially spawning the fish of both 
sexes, in the same manner.as he had frequently performed the 
operation on trout and salmon. He humourously detailed the ex- 
periment made for the purpose, the result of which, however, was 
unsatisfactory. In conclusion he stated that the incident of the 
~ spawning of these fish in the Brighton Aquarium was one of con- 
siderable interest, as bearing, lst — On the confirmation of. the 
discovery of Sars in 1865, that the cod, mackerel, gurnard, and 
other species of fish, spawn at the surface of the water, where the 
ova float during the whole time of their development. 2nd—On 
their spawning season. 8rd—lIndirectly, and arising out of these, 
on the expediency (or the contrary) of legislation for the protection 
of sea-fish, by the enactment of an annual close-time, as proposed 
by some, and on the restriction of trawling, as advocated by others. 
Mr. Lee added that he was watching carefully the progressive de- 
