1/2 MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES 



It was not till 1893 that I succeeded in obtaininLj artificially 

 fertilised eggs of the pilchard. These were taken on September 

 5th, ten miles south of the Eddystone, by the crew of a boat to 

 whom I had given bottles for carrying the eggs and instructions 

 for handling them. In this case the boat was using pilchard 

 nets and fishing for pilchards, but was working farther from the 

 coast than usual. In the catch of 2,200 fish a few ripe specimens 

 were found, and the eggs were brought to me next morning in 

 good condition and in process of development. The eggs agreed 

 perfectly with those previously obtained from the sea. 



Fig. 88. — Egg of the Pilchard, alive, and magnified. 



The appearance when magnified of the living pilchard egg in 

 course of development is shown in Fig. 88. The egg is com- 

 pletely distinguished from the numerous other kinds which float 

 in the sea by three unmistakable peculiarities. These are (i) the 

 unusually large space between the egg-membrane and the 

 enclosed egg, (2) the complete division of the yolk into a num- 

 ber of irregularly-shaped segments, (3) the presence of a single 

 large oil-globule in the yolk. Neither of these characters alone 

 is peculiar to the pilchard egg, but no other egg is known in 

 British waters which possesses the three together. 



Pilchard eggs are taken in small numbers when the tow-net 



