12 Part I1I.—Twenty-fourth Annual Report 
THE Foop-VALUE OF THE HERRING. 
As part of the series of researches now being carried out by the 
scientific department of the Board on the herring and herring 
fisheries, it was decided to obtain analyses of herrings in order to 
determine their composition and food-value at different periods of 
their development, especially when ripe or nearly mature and when 
spent. This investigation was undertaken by Dr. T. H. Milroy, 
Professor of Physiology, Queen’s College, Belfast, who furnishes an 
important paper on the subject which is contained in the present 
Report, the detailed analyses being set forth in numerous Tables. 
Herrings have been analysed before, but the results have shown 
much discrepancy from the fact that the season of the year or the 
sexual development of the fish has been ignored. Professor 
Milroy shows that great differences in the muscle of the herring 
exist at different periods, even when the herrings are taken from 
the same waters. The herrings used for the research were obtained 
principally from Lochfyne, but also from Lochboisdale and Helms- 
dale. 
The composition of the herrings is stated in terms of water, 
proteid, fat, and phosphoric acid, and as the muscle or flesh 
constitutes the main source of the nutritive value of the herring, it 
is important to recognise the variations in its composition. These 
are most striking, especially as concerns the percentage of fat, and 
as this food principle possesses such a high caloric value, any 
marked decrease in its amount lowers the nutritive value of the 
fish to a serious extent. The lowest fat-percentage was found in 
the large spent herrings from Lochboisdale in February, and the 
total amount of fat present in the collective muscles of the average 
fish was exceedingly small. In these muscles the percentage of 
water was higher than normal, but the proteid and phosphorus 
percentages were but little affected. In Lochfyne, the fat-per- 
centage of the flesh of the herring continues to rise during August, 
September, and October. It begins to fall slowly in November, 
markedly in December, most markedly during spawning, and 
continues at a low level until the fish begin to feed again. 
With regard to the nutritive value of spent herrings, Professor 
Milroy says the statements often vaguely made as to their 
unwholesome character usually rest upon the general appearance 
of the flesh, which is undoubtedly poorer in fat. But the nutritive 
value depends not only upon the fat, but upon the proteids, and 
the analyses show that in this respect spent herrings compare by 
no means unfavourably with the maturing or mature fish. Fully 
mature fish, about to spawn, are in the same condition as freshly 
spent fish. 
A similar research on the composition of the herrings of the 
east coast of Scotland is now in progress. 
THE RATE OF GROWTH AND AGE OF THE HERRING. 
To the present Report a paper is contributed by Dr. Wemyss 
Fulton on the growth and age of the herring, based upon the 
measurements and examination during the last six years of nearly 
