174 



MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES 



of mosquito netting. 

 They very closely re- 

 semble the similar 

 stages of the herring 

 or sprat, and the 

 starting-point of the 

 reasoning which leads 

 to the conclusion that 

 they are pilchards is 

 the time of year at 

 which they were 

 taken. There are no 

 herrings spawning in 

 the neighbourhood of 

 Plymouth in June or 

 July, and sprat eggs 

 are not usually seen 

 there later than the 

 beginning of May ; 

 pilchard eggs on the 

 other hand are abun- 

 dant from the begin- 

 ning of June to late 

 autumn. The young- 

 est stage of the speci- 

 mens in question, 

 moreover, was smaller 

 than the herring at 

 an earlier stage of 

 development. 



The youngest of 

 the specimens w^as 

 8-5 mm. long (^a^^,^ 

 inch). It was but 

 slightly advanced be- 

 yond the condition of 

 the oldest larva reared 

 in confinement. The 

 chief differences were 

 that the fin mem- 



