88 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



have the advantage in the flat fish ; and the Scots 

 waters, being farthest north, in the round fish. 



Among the semi-transparent larvae, and other 

 products of the net, there appear, between February 

 and July, certain tiny globules, which so exquisitely 

 blend with the medium, that, but for a delicate rim, 

 they must be invisible even to the most practised 

 eye. 



That these were the eggs of the food fishes was 

 first of all placed beyond reasonable doubt by 

 hatching them out in the laboratory, And, now 

 slight differences in size, the presence or absence 

 of oil globules, and certain other marks, are 

 sufficient to determine to what species each must 

 be assigned ; even before the tiny embryo, with its 

 dots and stars of black, or brown, or orange, or red, 

 or yellow, wraps itself round the enclosed yolk. 



By noting the dates of the appearance, or dis- 

 appearance of the various species, and their relative 

 abundance or scarcity, and by carrying on the 

 process from year to year, the spawning seasons 

 are known, and the increase or decrease are 

 determined with approximate accuracy. The plaice 

 is our earliest spawner, and is followed by the dab. 

 " A January haddock, and a February hen," probably 

 indicates that the former is still unspent and in 



