BY JAS. R. TOSH, M.A., B. SC, ' 179 



Fig. 22, Plate XI., shows the beginning of the mouth cleft 

 (m). Fig 23 is a top view of 22, and shows along the middle of 

 the body a number of small clear bodies — usually 8 in number. 

 The small circle on the continuous fin, close to the back, in fig. 

 20, should not be there, but it represents one of these bosses on 

 the left side of the boily seen obliquely through the fin. They 

 do not show at all on a side view. Fig. 23a is a horizontal long 

 section through one of these bodies. It is an epidermal struc- 

 ture with an almost glandular appearance enclosed in a split in 

 the epidermis, and having no evident connection with the under- 

 lying layers of tissue. In the live animal these bodies are 

 slightly stained by a very weak solution of Methylen Blue. At 

 this stage the larvae are very active. 



Fig. 24 — at 4 dys. 16^ hrs.— shows the mouth formed and 

 the yolk with the oil globule reduced almost to the vanishing 

 point. The branching pigment cells disappear from the con- 

 tinuous fin, and later are replaced by a few branching spots. 

 Pigment is developed in the retina. The stomach and liver are 

 formed. In figs. 25 and 26 the body is beginning to become 

 opaque — the notochord showing as a lighter streak in the median 

 line. The gut is now completed, and some of the divisions of 

 the brain can be seen. Scales are formed at about one month. 



The times and sizes of the stages figured are given below. 



Habitat and Habits. 



Soon after the beginning of the spawning season young 

 whiting of 10 mms. and over can be observed swimming actively 

 in small droves of from 10 to 20 on sand flats and beaches. 

 They move up and down with the tide, swimming in very shal- 

 low water. As they grow older thay keep further from the shore. 

 The whiting may be said to live almost exclusively on sandy 

 ground. The adults appear to be gregarious* only at spawning 

 time. 



The most characteristic habit of the whiting is that of 

 burrowing in the sand to escape from enemies. In so doing the 

 fish literally dives into the sand. The dive can be executed with 

 great rapidity and is a most serviceable accomplishmant. When 

 fishing for whiting with a seine net one can observe as the bunt 

 of the net nears the shore here and there a small cloud of sand 

 thrown up ; the fisherman marks the place, and when his net is 

 in, wades out and feels about in the saad with his feet ; when a 



