336 A HISTORY OF 



general assistant. Mr. Green's report on the work 

 accomplished forms an appendix to the report of the 

 Council laid before the Society on December the 5th, 

 1891. This valuable contribution to the subject of 

 west coast fisheries extends to 307 pages, the greater 

 part of which is occupied by Mr. Holt's report on the 

 results of the fishing operations of the cruise. Full 

 particulars are given of the fish captured, their size 

 and weight, their condition as to maturity, and the 

 contents of their stomachs. There is a list of stations, 

 with soundings, temperature, and specific gravity 

 records. The report concludes with a discussion of 

 the scientific results and their bearing on economic 

 questions. The results were also published in a series 

 of papers by Mr. Holt, which appeared in vols. iv. 

 and v. of the Transactions, and vol. vii. of the 

 Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society. The 

 value of this piece of work has been widely recognised, 

 and it has been extensively quoted in almost every 

 recent work on marine food fishes, both British and 

 foreign. 



The creation of the Congested Districts Board in 

 1891 transferred the responsibility for work of this 

 character to the shoulders of a Government depart- 

 ment. Mr. Green was a member of the board, which 

 renewed the charter with the Fingal, and continued the 

 work which the Society had initiated, at least in its 

 more economic bearings. 



In 1897 the Council was asked to consider the 

 advisability of undertaking a further investigation of 

 the life-history of food fishes. The economic import- 

 ance of the scientific work of the surveys of 1890 and 

 1891 was beginning to be realised, and there was 

 every hope of further scientific work producing similar 

 results. The Government again promised assistance, 



