20 Part III —Twenty-fourth Annual Report 
COD—continued. 
Range of Size. | 
Approximate|Approximate 
| Mega eneen PN AGeM Apparent 
Date. IGroup| No. | ee z . Growth froxn 
| | Size. |—_—__—_—__|_—__—____| Preceding 
Cm. | Inches. Cm. | Inch. | Years M’ths. Serles. 
III.—Firth of Forth— | 
continued. | 
August 19, 1901, Seeley (eveabeatoe es fF ayes, |" 33 .. | 43-5 
II. | 93 |14-8-31-61543-127,| 21 | 22-5 | 8% 1 | 43-5] 15 | 53% 
ee en ee LeBel 2a pei ee eee S| 
August 22, 1901,- -| I. | 46 |5-8-13-2] 23-5,9, 7 8 3, ayes 
II. 47 |16-8-29-7| 68-114 22 22.5 83 1 43-5 | 14-5 5} 
| 
August 21,1901,- -| I. | 10 | 64-7-9| 22-83 7 7 23 | .. | 4-5 
Il. 19 |18-8-29-2) 78-114 22 23-5 9} 1 | 44-5 | 165] 64 
| 
August 19-22, - -| I. | 146 |5-4-13-2| 23-55, 7 7:5 NLS > tke 
(Combined.) II. | 159 |14-8-31-65}2-127,, 21 | 22-5 | 8% 1 | 42-5} 15 | 5t§ 
IV.—OUFF SHETLAND | 
ISLES 
May 19-22, 1901, -| I. | 8 |18-1-23-7) 74-98 a sf a eles 
III. | 268 |25-2-41-2/ 915-161] 32 32-5 | 123 
tr 
_ 
ne 
| IV. | 141 |41-8-61-6] 16-243 | 50 OV 1981) eS beds re eee 
The first series, that is, cod in their first year, comprises over 900 
specimens, and they are present in greater or less numbers in thirty-four 
of the collections. 
They first appeared in a collection made in the Dornoch Firth on 9th 
June 1903, the haul being made with the small-meshed net around the 
cod-end of the otter trawl, in from 8 to 11 fathoms. ‘Twenty-five were 
taken measuring from 33mm. to 48mm. (1,°,-13 inches), the average size 
being 38°8 mm., ora trifle over 14 inches. These young cod were approxi- 
mately 24 months old. It is of interest to note that on 30th March in 
the following year (1904), a shoal of spawning cod of large size were 
discovered on the same ground, a little further off, in from 13 to 15 or 16 
fathoms.* 
They next appear in the collections of 30th July, in Aberdeen Bay, 
and of 23rd July in the Firth of Forth. In the latter case 29 were 
obtained, measuring from 4:6cm. to 8:4cm. (143-3;% inches), and with 
an average size of about 6cm., or 23 inches. The arithmetical average 
was 61‘3mm. An examination of the curve shows that the smaller cod 
are not duly represented, the rise from 4cm, to 5cm. being very abrupt ; 
more probably 2‘5cm. or 3cm. would indicate the lower limit of the 
group, and 5cm., or 2 inches, the average size. In the collections made 
in the Firth of Forth from 19th to 22nd August, or nearly a month later 
than the above, the range in size of 146 specimens was from 5:4cm. to 
13-2cm. (23-5,3, inches), and the average size wasiabout 7cm., or 2? 
inches, an increase of about 2cm., or ? of an inch (fig. 5, pl. XII.). 
* Wide Twenty-third Annual Report. Part III, p. 21. 
