12 Fishery Board for Scotland. 



facts being submitted to a more mimite analysis." He felt " safer 

 in declaring that there is no racial distinction between the herrings 

 frequenting the different localities on the Scottish coasts." 



Matthews, in the second part; of his paper discussing the com- 

 parison of the herrings by means of combinations of characters : — 



" The further examination of the characters already dealt with, 

 but taken in combination, with one or more others, doe.5 not seem to 

 so seriously affect the results recorded in the first part of the paper 

 as to alter the probability of the conclusions arrived at ; but it 

 must be remembered that so far as they go they slightly tend to 

 reduce the probability of the distinction of S]3ecies [? race] considered 

 to exist between the winter- and summer-herrings." 



" The only combinations which, in the comparatively narrow 

 variations recorded, have much interest, or indeed are common 

 enough to be of any value, are those of two characters. Wlien the 

 combination of certain definite conditions in more than two 

 characters on the same fish is looked for, the number of individuals 

 having what may be called the normal state of these combination 

 is so much reduced as to lead to results of no special value." 



" We have in most of the characters a more or less common 

 ground of variation, i.e. a region in which the character appears so 

 commonly as to be entitled to the term ' normal,' and an extreme 

 of variation on one or both sides of this and more or less great." 



" Taking the summer- and wintpr-fish separately, or both com- 

 bined, we invariably find that the majority have a central ground 

 of variation, while the numbers decrease gradually to the extreme 

 on each side of this common area. Had a considerable portion of 

 the fish been found showing an extreme of two or more characters 

 while another set presented a markedly separate condition, it would 

 be almost certain evidence of racial distinction, but none such is 

 to be found in the herrings examined." 



" The examination of a large number of the different combinations 

 in which two characters are found on the individual fish led " 

 Matthews " to the conclusion that no racial distinction is shown 

 by these alone, i.e. when the season in which they were caught 

 is ignored, for there is a gradation towards each extreme of the 

 variations which connects all the fish together." 



" When we come to a combination of more than two characters, 

 the third character is found so scattered throughout the combinations 

 of the others that no value can be placed on it." 



" The position of the pectoral fin varies indiscriminately and 

 irrespective of the condition of the dorsal and anal, and is therefore 

 not of racial value." 



" The shorter of the sexually mature fi,sh are found, as a rule, to 

 have the longer head. This is found to occur in both the summer- 

 and winter-herrings. It seems quite clear that the decrease in the 

 proportional length of the head to the length of the body is a result 

 of increase of size, and presumably therefore of the age of the herring, 

 and is not an indication merely of variety." 



" In all the cases examined the total length of the vertebral column 

 was carefully measured, the result showing conclusively that its total 

 length was unaffected by the number of vertebrae." 



Matthews refers " to the mistake of supposing that herrings are 



