of fhe Fishery Board for Scotland. 265 



1905 ; a considerable proportion of them were entirely empty, a number 

 of the others contained some red-coloured fluid, probably derived from 

 organisms captured by the fishes, but there was nothing that could be 

 identified. In several instances the stomachs were distended with air, 

 the result perhaps of fermentation. The fishes represented by these 

 stomachs comprised 29 9 and 20 cS. 



June 1st, 1905. — Thirty-six stomachs of herrings sent from Loch Broom 

 were examined at this date. The results obtained resembled generally 

 those of the previous sample. A number of the stomachs were found to 

 be entirely empty, and the others contained some semi-fluid matter usually 

 of a reddish colour, bu*^. no trace of anything that could be identified 

 with certainty. In some cases, as in the previous sample, the stomachs 

 were considerably distended with air. 



(4) Stornoway. 



June, 1905. — The stomachs of thirteen herrings, being part of a sample 

 sent from Stornovvay on May 19, were examined in June. They all 

 contained food which, with one exception, consisted for the most part 

 of post-larval fishes. In the one stomach referred to, however, no fishes 

 were observed, but the food consisted entirely of Decapod larvae, of which 

 there were a considerable quantity. Eight stomachs contained fishes 

 only, while the others contained both fishes and crustacean larva?. The 

 fishes appeared to be mostly sand-eels, but Clupeoids may, in some cases, 

 have also been present ; the food, however, had already undergone 

 digestion to some extent, and the species could not in a few examples be 

 satisfactorily determined. One stomach at least was crammed full with 

 post-larval sand-eels, and two others were fairly well filled with the same 

 kind of fish. The oidy other organism observed in addition to the Deca- 

 pod and fish larvae was a single specimen of Caligus rapax. All the 

 thirteen herrings were females with undeveloped ovaries. 



July 7th, 1905. — The stomachs of thirty-four herrings sent from 

 Stornoway were examined. Eight of them were either empty or contained 

 a small quantity of semi- fluid matter, but nothing that could be identified. 

 The other twenty-six contained food which consisted for the most part of 

 post-larval fishes, chiefly sand-eels. In only two examples were fish 

 remains apparently absent, and the food in one of these consisted of the 

 remains of Calanoida and in the other of Euphausiidpe, but these organ- 

 isms were so much disintegrated that the species could not be satisfac- 

 torily determined. 



Eight stomachs were distended with the large quantity of young fishes 

 they contained, while as many more were tolerably well filled with them. 

 In a few cases Calanus were found in the same stomachs with the fishes. 

 Seven of the thirty-four herrings were spawners, but there was no indica- 

 tion that difi'erence in sex resulted in any diflference in the nature or 

 quantity of the food consumed. 



January 17th, 1907. — The stomachs of two herrings ($ and cj") — part of 

 a sample from Stornoway — contained each a small quantity of food 

 consisti ig of fragments of Schizopods (Euphau.siidae^ ; they were so 

 disintegrated as to be almost indistinguishable, but the only fragments 

 that could be identified with certainty belonged to Nyctiphanes. 



February 14th, 1907. — Six herrings (5 $ and 1 s), from another sample 

 sent from Stornoway, had all of them food in their stomachs. Two were 

 tolerably full, but the quantity in the others was small. One contained 

 post-larval fishes — apparently Clupeoids, but the food observed in the 

 '^thers consisted only of Xyctiphanes. 



