THE HERRING FAMILY 175 



brane had disappeared along the belly in front of the vent, and 

 was much narrower behind the vent and along the back ; the 

 tail was more distinct and more developed, and the dorsal fin 

 had begun to appear on the back. In an older stage (Fig. 

 91), 11-5 mm. in length ( T Y<r inch), the dorsal fin was larger, 

 and the tail more developed, but traces of the original fin 

 membrane remained, and the hinder pair of side fins had not 

 appeared. The largest specimens (Fig. 92) were 24 mm. long, 

 or very nearly one inch, and in these the body was thicker, 

 and the fin-rays much better developed ; the original fin mem- 

 brane was entirely gone, the tail was forked and like that of the 

 adult, and the hinder pair of side fins were present. But the 

 dorsal fin was still behind the hinder side fins ; there were no 

 scales or silvery coat, and the body was very long in proportion 

 to its thickness. 



At Marseilles and Nice, on the shores of the Mediterranean, 

 very fine nets are used for the capture of swarms of minute fish 

 fry, very much as in the whitebait fishing of England. In the 

 Gulf of Marseilles, Professor Marion has traced the growth and 

 development of the pilchard in the produce of such fishing 

 throughout the first year of its life. The young sardines before 

 the development of the scales and silvery covering are called by 

 the fishermen poutino nudo, or naked fry ; these are from % inch 

 to if inch. At a larger size, if to 2 inches, when they have 

 acquired the silvery livery, they are called poutino vestido, or 

 clothed fry. When still larger they are called palailla and 

 sardinettes. 



It has been abundantly established that the small pilchards 

 taken on the west coast of France for the sardine industry are a 

 year old, and are sexually immature. That they are not capable 

 of spawning is certain, no development of the roe or milt having 

 ever been seen in pilchards of this size. With regard to the age 

 we have merely to assume that the fish spawns in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the French coast in summer and autumn as it does 

 on the English coast, or rather it may be said that we know that 

 in the area of sea about the entrance of the English Channel 

 the pilchard spawns from June to October. Therefore it is 

 certain that the small fish which appear from May onwards are 

 the produce of the preceding year ; we have no reason to sup- 

 pose that they are more than one year old. These fish are from 



