PROPAGATION AND GROWTH OF HERRING. 657 



be the spawning-season of the small herring.^^ Mr. G. von Yhlen, su- 

 perintendent of fisheries, who at first gave the latter part of autumn as 

 the spawning-season of the small herring has done so in accordance 

 with the experience of old fishermen, although it is my opinion that 

 there is no reason why he should admit the spawning during autumn 

 merely as an exception.^^ 



Prof. G. J. Smidevall has ascertained that the small-herring on the 

 coast of Stockholmliin spawn towards the end of June and in July,^ 

 therefore somewhat later than on the coast of Bohusliin. Kroyer re- 

 ports of his Glupea sprattus, that "they generally spawn in August, but 

 begin during the latter half, of June, and sometimes continue till Sep- 

 ember."^* and of Glupea ScJioneveldi, that "in spawners which were caught 

 early in spring he found the milt strongly developed," ^^ which indicates 

 an earlier spawning-season for this last-mentioned variety. 



The small herring found on the northern coast of Germany (Pommer- 

 ania, Holstein, East Friesland) is said to spawn in autumn."^ On the 

 eastern and southern coasts of Great Britain the small herring are re- 

 ported to spawn twice a year, viz : during summer^'^ and during winter 

 immediately after new year.^^ The small herring found on the coast of 

 Iceland spawns during spring.^^ 



My own observations regarding the spawning-season of the small-her- 

 ring show that on the middle coast it begins towards the end of May or 

 early in June. It is probable that the spawning- season begins a little 

 earlier on the northern and a little later on the southern coast.^°° The 

 small-herring which are caught in autumn and the beginning of winter 

 have never very strongly developed milt and roe (a circumstance which 

 can be fully and extensively proved by the preparation of so-called 



^> NtLSSON, " Prodromus ichthyologice Scandlnavicce, Lunda, 1832, p. 22. Skandinavisk 

 Fauna TV, p. 521. — W. V. Wright, " Handlingar ro7-ande sillfisJcet," pp. 167, 175. — Ek- 

 STROM, " Prakiisk af handling," pp. 9,103. — Ocfvo's. af Egl. Vet, AkaWs. Forliandl, I, 

 1844, p. 26. — A. W. Malm, " Goteborgs och Bohusldns Kgl. Rushdlln. Sdllsk. handl." for 

 1856, p. 10, Ldsning for Fiskare i Bohusliin, p. 15. — E. Uggla, " Goteborgs och Bohus- 

 ldns Egl. Hushlldn Sdllsk. handl. for 1859, Appendix 2, p. 15.— G. VON Yhlen, " Goteborgs 

 och Bohusldns Kgl. Rushdlln. Sdllsk. Quartalskrift, July 1867, pp. 51, 52, April 1868, p. 45. 



^G. VON Yellen, "Goteborgs och Bohusldns Kgl. Hushalln. Sdllsk. Quartalskrift," 

 July 1871, p. 52, July 1872, p. 50. Nya Randlingar rorande sillfisket^ I, p. 19. Recently 

 Dr. A. W. Malm has communicated observations from tho years 1864 and 1865 which 

 correct his above-mentioned older observations (Fauna, pp. 582, 583). 



^Stockholms Idns Kgl. Rushdlln. Sdllsk. Randl., vi, pp. 109, 185-187. 



^Danmarks Fiske, iii, -p. 191. 



^Danmarks Fiske, ui, p. 201. I have observed similar cases on the coast of Bohusliin. 



9GBLOCH, "OeconomischcXaturgeschichte," i, p. 207. — L. Wittmack, Circulare des deutsch- 

 en Fischeri-Vereins, 1875, p. 119. 



s^Yarrell, "British Fishes," 3d ed., i, p. 116.— J. Couch, "ARistory of the Fishes of 

 the British Islands," IV, London, 1865, p. 110. — E. Holdsworth, "Deep-sea fishing and 

 fishing-boats," London, 1874, pp. 133-135. 



98HOLDSWORTH, "Dcep-sea fishing and fishing-boats," pp. 133-135, 



99F. Faber, "Naturgeschichie der Fische Islands," Frankfurt-am-Main, 1829, p. 180. 



i<»NrLSS0N, "Skandinavisk Fauna," iv, p. 521. 

 42 F 



