26 MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES cHAP. 



1890; but the complete results of the two years' work were not 

 published till 1892, when they were printed in the Report of the 

 Council of the Society for 1891, and in the Proceedings of the 

 Society. This statement of results, under the title, " Report on 

 the Results of the Fishing Operations of the Survey," was 

 prepared by Mr. Ernest W. L. Holt, who bore the principal share 

 in the natural history work in the two cruises of 1890 and 1891. 

 The plan of operations in the natural history department was 

 devised by Professor H addon, and he took charge of the work 

 on board ship for two months in 1890, but not in 1891. Mr. 

 Holt's Report consists first of a list of the stations examined, 

 with a list of the fish caught at each, and an indication of the 

 invertebrates taken with them ; secondly, of a record of all the 

 fish caught under the heading of each species ; thirdly, of a 

 discussion of the scientific evidence on economic questions 

 afforded by the examination of these fish. In this last part of 

 the Report we have the determination for the west coast of 

 Ireland of (i) the spawning period of fish and the distribution 

 of the spawning fish ; (2) the limiting sizes of immature fish and 

 comparison of the habitats of mature and immature fish ; (3) the 

 effect of different nets upon the capture of immature fish ; 

 (4) the food of fishes. With respect to the definition of 

 immature fish in the several species, Mr. Holt makes an im- 

 provement on Dr. Fulton's method. Dr. Fulton ascertained the 

 smallest size of ripe and nearly ripe fish without regard to sex, 

 but mentions at the same time that the smallest ripe specimens 

 in nearly all instances were males. Mr, Holt gives tables in 

 which the greatest and least lengths of ripe and nearly ripe speci- 

 mens are recorded for the two sexes separately, and then in 

 discussing the distribution of mature and immature forms, 

 divides them by the size of the smallest ripe female. Mr. 

 Holt's report also contains in many cases information as to 

 the habitat of the very young individuals of several species 

 which do not pass their young stages in shallow water, and 

 which in these stages had not been obtained before — e.g.y 

 lemon sole {PL inicrocephaliis), pole dab {PL cynoglossus), and 

 others. Mr. Green at first announced that the young of such 

 forms obtained in very deep water were the young of the 

 common sole ; but when this conclusion was challenged by 

 myself from my own experience, the mistake was discovered 



