student of the Zoological Department of the Eoyal College 

 of Science, London, who came with strong recommenda- 

 tions from his teacher Professor G. E. Howes, of South 

 Kensington, and from Professor M'Intosh of St. Andrews, 

 where Mr. Corbin had done some work at the Marine 

 Station in the previous summer. Mr. Corbin started 

 work on June 1st, and is still here, and I hope we may 

 retain his services for a considerable time. This is pre- 

 eminently work where an assistant should become more 

 and more useful, and able to work more rapidly, as time 

 goes on, as in order to render efficient service he has to 

 know as intimately as possible the details of the ground, 

 and the fauna and flora of various parts of the district, all 

 of which takes time to learn. I have much pleasure in 

 testifying to Mr. Corbin' s intelligence and energy in his 

 work, and in acknowledging his help in the preparation 

 of this report. 



Scope of the Investigations. 



In the original scheme of these investigations which I 

 submitted to the Sea Fisheries Committee on January 16th. 

 I indicated some of the more pressing subjects requiring 

 investigation, as follows :— 



(1.) Information in regard to the life-history, the 

 growth, the reproduction, and especially the food of the 

 Sole (Solea vulgaris) in this neighbourhood; and also the 

 life-history, and food at all stages, of allied fishes of similar 

 habits which are found associated with the Sole, in order 

 to determine to what extent these or other less valuable 

 fishes compete with the Sole for the same food, and so 

 injure it in the struggle for existence. 



(2.) The food, habits, enemies, life-history and growth 

 of the Shrimp (Crangon vulgaris) ; the possibility of 

 restricting the Shrimp fishery either in space or time on 



