43 



study. As to this fact having any influence on their num- 

 bers, he thought that was answered to a certain extent, 

 perhaps not altogether, by the statistics of the Scotch her- 

 ring fisheries. Where the numbers of herrings caught had 

 increased from 130,000 barrels to over a million, it seemed 

 evident that, though the herrings went farther away, they 

 were not diminishing in numbers, and Professor Brown Goode 

 had suggested another reason for believing that they were 

 not injured by spawning in deep water. On the question of 

 the use of the word " spawn " or " fry," he thought if fisher- 

 men used the word spawn and meant fry, it was quite time 

 the distinction was thoroughly understood. The words were 

 used together, both spawn and fry, in ancient Acts of Parlia- 

 ment — " spawn " referring to eggs and '" fry " to young fish. 

 He saw that Dr. Day shook his head, but he thought he 

 could put his finger on an Act of Parliament, of the reign 

 of Elizabeth,* where the words were used in the same 

 sentence. On the question which Mr. Wilmot referred to, 

 of small soles being caught in enormous numbers as a 

 proof that the adult soles were diminishing, and of soles 

 and other fish coming close to the shore to spawn, he 

 thought that was a point which required very careful 

 investigation. If soles and all other fish came in to spawn 

 he did not understand how it was that the trawlers near 

 the coast in Torbay and other large arms of the sea 

 did not catch the large fish at the same time as they 

 caught the small. If the large fish came in to spawn 

 they must be there to be caught ; but the evidence of 

 the Torbay fishermen was to the contrary. When they 



* I have since looked up this Act. It is one of EHz. cap. xvii. 

 " An Act for Preservation of Spawn and Fry of Fish." There are 

 several other Acts, both earher and later, which support my view. — 

 C. E. F. 



