Smelt, Size, Growth, Food. 113 



from 2| up to 8 inches.* Both sexes present ; the females 

 predominated. The smaller, say 3J or 4 inches long, had 

 the ovary or milt generally in an undeveloped stage. From 

 4| to 5 inches the sexual organs were a stage further advanced. 

 The sizes beyond this were irregular in condition ; that is, 

 some fish, though small, had the roe fairly well developed ; 

 while others, a little bigger in size, were not so forward. But 

 throughout December and January most of those 7 and 8 inches 

 long had eggs of a size almost fit for extrusion. The bulk of 

 the largest smelts were met with in December, evidently the 

 precursory spawn ers. 



Unfortunately we have not been successful hitherto in 

 securing spent fish as they descend the stream, nor know with 

 exactitude their subsequent movements. Opportunities for 

 comparing growth -rate of the young were sparing. During the 

 autumn several specimens, turned an inch to If inch long, were 

 got out of the "bait" boxes, the shortest tolerably well agreed 

 with Ehrenbaum's descriptions of river Elbe specimens. f At 

 first glance ours, though in some respects resembling the 

 elongated sprat and herring fry, yet differed in their more 

 yellowish tint and absence of silvering. With hand lens their 

 pigment markings, &c., easily distinguished them. The largest 

 sized ones, in shape and appearance of eyes, head, fins and tail- 

 forking, clearly denoted their salmon extraction. When 

 2| inches long there was no mistaking them for smelts. 



Amongst the food of those examined were larval fish of 

 various kinds, clupeoids and young gobies, &c., several kinds of 

 crustaceans shrimps, Corophium, Gammarus, Mysis, Idotea, 

 Copepods and Amphipods, of sorts, with more rarely annelid 

 remains. 



Smelts continue in abundance, and we have not heard of 

 symptoms of their diminish ment. Economically the Southend 



* It is said they reach 10 inches and over, though such have not come under our 

 observation. 



t Biol. Anstalt auf Helgoland, 1893 (1896). 



