200 MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES 



Breeding. — The death of large females in aquaria and the 

 great development of the ovaries in them has been repeatedly 

 observed. In large specimens captured in the sea by hook the 

 roes are often found to have a considerable size. I have seen 

 them as much as 3 inches wide with the eggs visible as separate 

 grains to the naked eye. In such specimens the roe is intensely 

 white, and fishermen often deny that it is roe or ' pea,' asserting 

 that it is merely the fat. There is much fat in the roe in this 

 condition, but the eggs are scattered through it and can be 

 recognised without much difiiculty. The roes in females which 

 have died in aquaria are larger and the eggs also larger : the 

 fat is entirely absent. The weights of the roes were taken and 

 the number of eggs calculated in the case of females which died 

 in the Southport aquarium in 1876, and in the Berlin aquarium in 

 1 88 1. In a specimen only 22^ lbs. weight the total number of 

 eggs was calculated to be over six million by Mr. Jackson of 

 Southport, while in Berlin only three million were calculated in a 

 specimen weighing 22^ lbs.,. of which the roes weighed 8 lbs. In 

 another calculation given by Buckland, in a conger 6| feet long 

 weighing 69 lbs., whose roes weighed 7} lbs., the number of eggs 

 was over 14 million. I myself calculated the number in a specimen 

 5 feet 4 inches long, 33 lbs. 8 oz. in weight, whose roes weighed 7 lbs. 

 6h oz., at nearly eight million. The death of conger in the same 

 condition, with their bellies distended with the enlarged roes, was 

 also observed at the Naples aquarium. 



The male conger was discovered by Dr. Otto Hermes, 

 Director of the Berlin aquarium, in 1880. A number of specimens 

 caught near Havre were sent to that aquarium in 1879: they 

 were 2 feet to 2 feet 4 inches long. All grew rapidly except one 

 which died on June 20, 1880, and was then only 2 feet 5 inches 

 long. When it was opened it was found to contain large soft 

 roes somewhat like those of the herring, and these were full of 

 ripe milt. 



My own experiments and observations at Pl}'mouth extended 

 our knowledge of the conger considerably. I confirmed Dr. 

 Hermes' description of the ripe male organs, and examined a 

 number of male specimens alive and dead in the years 1887 to 

 1890. I found that when a number of small conger, less than 

 2 feet 8 inches in length were obtained from the fishermen, there 

 were nearly always some males among them. In some of these 



