322 A. E. Verrill — North American Cephdlopods. 



2. By the second week in July, the first hatched of the June squids 

 have grown to the size in which the body (or mantle) is ;30 to 48""" 

 long ; bixt these are associated with others that are younger, of 

 all sizes down to those just hatched. But they begin to show a dis 

 position to go in "schools" composed of individuals of somewhat 

 similar sizes. 



3. By the second week in August, the largest June squids have 

 become 50 to 68""" in length of body, and the later broods are 5 

 to 30"'"' long. As before, with these sizes occur others of all ages 

 down to those just hatched. It should be observed, however, that 

 in those of our tabulated lots taken by the trawl, the very small sizes 

 are absent, because they pass freely through the coarse meshes of the 

 net. 



4. By the second week in September, the June squids have the 

 mantle 60 to 82""" long. All the grades of smaller ones still 

 abound. A few larger specimens, taken the last of August, and in 

 September, 84 to 110"'"' long, may belong to the June brood, but 

 they may belong to those of the previous autumn. 



5. In the first week of November, the larger yoiing squids taken 

 had acquired a mantle length of 79 to 85"'"\ but these are probably 

 not the largest that might be found. Younger ones, probably 

 hatcdied in September and October, 8 to 20'""' in length of body, 

 occurred in vast numbers Nov. 1, 1874. The specimens taken Novem- 

 ber 16, off Chesapeake Bay, having the mantle 70-90'"™ long, probably 

 belong to the schools hatched in summer, 



6. In May and June the smallest squids taken, and believed to be 

 those hatched in the previous September or October, have the man- 

 tle 62 to 100'^'"' long. With these there are others of larger sizes, 

 up to 152 to 188""", and connected with the smaller ones by inter- 

 mediate sizes. All these are believed to belong to the various broods 

 of the previous season. In these, the sexual organs begin to increase 

 in size and the external sexual characters begin to appear. The males 

 are of somewhat greater length than the females of the same age. 



7. In July, mingled with the young of the season, in some lots, 

 but more often in separate schools, we take young squids having the 

 mantle 75 to 100'""' long. These we can connect by intermediate 

 sizes with those of the previous year, taken in June. I regard these 

 as somewhat less than a year old. 



8. Beyond the first year it becomes very difficult to determine the 

 age with certainty, for those of the first season begin, even in the 

 autumn, to overlap in their sizes those of the previous year. 



