of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 49 



the herrings the stomach was lai-ge and full of copepods ; one or two 

 herrings had empty stomachs. 



CLfDE. — Gareloch, 18th December 1906 : — 1 Imm, J, 23 cm. : t, 3 mm. : 

 fat, large quantity ; 47 W. Spr., 19 to 26 cm. : eggs, •4-rO mm. : o, 4-18 

 mm. : t, 9-26 mm. : fat, large quantity, none. The stomachs were empty. 



Clyde.— Upper Loch Fyne, 12th December 1905 :— 30 W. Spr., 26 to 

 33 cm. ; eggs, •8-1-2 mm. : o, 20-34 mm. : t, 28-37 mm. : fat, not noted. 

 The stomach was flaccid in some cases, shrunken in others. As a rule it 

 was empty. Two stomachs had remains of food, and there was in the 

 pylorus and gut of most of the specimens a red matter which indicated they 

 had been feeding lately (probably on copepods). 



East Coast.— Firth of Tay, 8th December 1906 :— 403 Imm., 5 to 15 

 cm. 



East Coast.— Firth of Forth, 20th December 1907 :— 18 Imm., 18 to 

 20 cm. : eggs, "17 mm. : o, 2*5, 3 mm. : t, r5-2-5 mm. : fat, large quantity ; 

 4 Imm. dev. $, 19 to 21 cm. : eggs, '2 mm. : o, 2-3 mm. : fat, great 

 quantity; 1 W. Spr. 5, 20 cm. : eggs, "5 mm. : o, 9 mm. : fat, a little. 

 One stomach was full of food, apparently schizopods ; the other stomachs 

 were empty. 



Swedish Herrings landed at Leith, 31st December 1907 : — 9 Imm., 15 to 

 19 cm. : eggs, -15, -2 mm. : o, 2, 3-5 mm.: t, 1, 1-5 mm. : fat, a large 

 quantity, a little ; 1 W. Spr. $, 26 cm. : eggs, -5 mm. : o, 9 mm. : fat, large 

 quantity ; 1 S. Spt. $, 26 cm. : eggs, "2 mm. : o, 8 mm. : fat, large quantity. 

 One stomach had remains of Crustacea ; the other stomachs were empty. 



Summary (Clyde and East Coast). 



Imm. — 5 to 23 cm. : eggs, -15, -17 mm. : o, 2-3 mm. : t, 1-5-3 mm.; 

 fat, large quantity, some. 



Imm. dev. $. — 19 to 21 cm. : eggs, -2 mm. : o, 2-3 mm. : fat, great 

 quantity. 



Spg. Sprs. — 17 to 22 cm. : eggs, -2, -3 mm. : o, 2-4 mm. : t, 3-5-6 mm. : 

 fat, large quantity, some. 



W. Sprs. — 18 to 31 cm. : eggs, •4-1-2 mm : o, 4-34 mm.: t, 6-37 mm.: 

 fat, large quantity, none. 



S. Spt. S. — 25 cm. : t, skin-like. 



The immature herrings from the Clyde, 13 to 21 cm. in length, had a 

 large quantity of abdominal fat. They had nevertheless been feeding 

 largely, for the stomachs were full of copepods. This indicates that the 

 store of fat in the abdomen is not a provision for the growth of the body, 

 but is a reserve for the formation of the i-oe and milt. The spring spawners 

 (17-22 cm. long) have probably just left the immature group. They will 

 pi'obably grow before they spawn. 



[Tabhe. 



