On the Hatching of Herring Ova in Deep Water. 51 



not they would develop in the usual way. An attempt to do 

 this was made in 1884, but without success. In the autumn 

 of 1884 I was unable to join the " Jackal " until the fishing 

 season was nearly at an end. However, after some difficulty, 

 ripe herring were obtained, and the artificially fertilised eggs 

 deposited in the deep water off Fraserburgh in wooden boxes 

 specially constructed for the purpose. Unfortunately, a 

 storm set in the day before it was arranged to haul up the 

 boxes, and although diligent search was made in all direc- 

 tions in the vicinity of the " pot," it was impossible to find 

 any trace of either the buoys or the hatching boxes. 



Owing to the Moray Firth being in many respects unsuit- 

 able for this experiment, I turned my attention to the west 

 coast, and found a comparatively sheltered spot in Loch 

 Fyne, with a depth of 104 fathoms. To insure success, I had 

 a small tank constructed of thick slate slabs firmly bound 

 together by iron rods. The tank, though only about 20 

 inches square, weighed nearly 2 cwts. In the top and in 

 two sides of this tank, small windows were made about 

 6 inches square. Each window was carefully fitted with a 

 teak frame, across which a single layer of horse-hair cloth 

 was stretched. These windows admitted a sufficient current 

 of water to pass through the tank. All the necessary pre- 

 parations having been made for depositing the tank during 

 last autumn, we were arranging to have eggs conveyed from 

 the east coast, when it was discovered that herring were 

 spawning in Loch Fyne. Mr Brook, who was engaged at the 

 Fishery Board Tarbert Station during the autumn, kindly 

 undertook, in my absence, to obtain eggs and superintend 

 the sinking of the tank in the 100 fathom water. Eggs were 

 obtained on the 11th of September from herring caught in 

 Kilbrannan Sound in water varying from 8 to 12 fathoms. 

 All the eggs were placed at first in the laboratory in water 

 which had an average temperature of 54° Fahr. Some of 

 those that were kept in the laboratory hatched out on the 

 19th, while others only hatched on the 24th, thirteen days 

 after fertilisation. 



On the 16th, one of the glass plates, coated with eggs, was 

 introduced into the slate tank above mentioned, and the tank 



